FT Alarms and Events System Configuration Guide

FactoryTalk Alarms and Events
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events System Configuration Guide

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Table of contents
Chapter 1
What you need to get started Required software ................................................................................................... 9

Recommended hardware and supported operating systems ......................... 10
Logix5000 controllers ................................................................................... 10
Compatible firmware .................................................................................... 11
Older controllers............................................................................................ 12
How to get the information you need .............................................................. 12
Chapter 2
Overview of FactoryTalk Choose between HMI Tag Alarm Monitoring and FactoryTalk Alarms
Alarms and Events services and Events .............................................................................................................. 14
Where to start ....................................................................................................... 15
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events components.................................................. 17
About monitoring for alarm conditions ........................................................... 19
About device-based alarm monitoring....................................................... 19
About software-based alarm monitoring................................................... 21
Choose between device-based and tag-based alarm monitoring .................. 22
Graphic objects in FactoryTalk Alarms and Events ....................................... 22
Chapter 3
Plan your system Decide what type of application you are building ........................................... 23
Decide what type of alarm monitoring you need ............................................ 24
What you need ...................................................................................................... 24
Follow these steps ................................................................................................. 25
Install and activate FactoryTalk software ......................................................... 25
Typical stand-alone system .......................................................................... 26
Install FactoryTalk software ........................................................................ 26
Install Microsoft SQL Server....................................................................... 27
Chapter 4
Define device-based alarms Alarm buffering during loss of connection to the controller ........................ 29
in Logix5000 controllers Before you begin.................................................................................................... 30
What you need ...................................................................................................... 30
Define a digital alarm ........................................................................................... 31
Configure the alarm and download to the controller ............................. 31
Rockwell Automation Publication FactoryTalk Alarms and Events System Configuration Guide - July 2015 3
Table of contents
Define an analog alarm ........................................................................................ 42

Configure the alarm and download it to the controller ......................... 42
Chapter 5
Add a device server for Before you begin.................................................................................................... 53

Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500 What you need ...................................................................................................... 53
controllers
Add a device server ............................................................................................... 54
Chapter 6
Add an OPC Data Server for Before you begin.................................................................................................... 63

third-party controllers What you need ...................................................................................................... 63
Add an OPC Data Server to an application..................................................... 64
Chapter 7
Add a tag-based alarm server Before you begin.................................................................................................... 67

for Logix5000, PLC-5, SLC What you need ...................................................................................................... 67
500, or third-party
Create an application ........................................................................................... 68
controllers Add a data server ................................................................................................... 71
Add a Tag Alarm and Event Server ................................................................... 74
Define alarm conditions ...................................................................................... 75
Next steps ............................................................................................................... 77
Chapter 8
Set up graphic displays Before you begin.................................................................................................... 79

What you need ...................................................................................................... 79
Create a graphic display ....................................................................................... 80
Create an Alarm and Event Summary .............................................................. 82
Create an Alarm and Event Banner display ..................................................... 85
Create a startup macro for the Banner display ................................................ 90
Use color animation to indicate alarm state changes ..................................... 93
Next steps ............................................................................................................. 102
4 Rockwell Automation Publication FactoryTalk Alarms and Events System Configuration Guide - July 2015
Table of contents
Chapter 9
Monitor and interact with Before you begin.................................................................................................. 103

alarms at run time What you need .................................................................................................... 103
Follow these steps ............................................................................................... 104
Create and then run a FactoryTalk View Client configuration ................. 104
Monitor alarms and events................................................................................ 110
Security for alarms and events ................................................................... 112
Acknowledge an alarm ................................................................................ 112
Disable or enable an alarm ......................................................................... 115
Suppress or unsuppress an alarm .............................................................. 118
Shelve or unshelve an alarm ....................................................................... 121
Chapter 10
Set up historical alarm and Before you begin.................................................................................................. 127

event logging What you need .................................................................................................... 128
Confirm that the SQL Server software is installed ....................................... 130
Add a database definition to your FactoryTalk system................................ 130
Associate a database definition with an alarm server .................................... 133
Create an Alarm and Event Log Viewer display............................................ 136
Create a button to open the Alarm and Event Log Viewer display .... 139
Create a startup macro for the Menu Bar display ......................................... 145
View historical alarm data in a FactoryTalk View SE Client ...................... 147
Run the application ..................................................................................... 147
Chapter 11
Configure redundancy for FactoryTalk server redundancy ........................................................................ 151

alarms and events Develop and test your application without redundancy ............................. 151
Before you begin.................................................................................................. 152
What you need .................................................................................................... 152
Upgrade an existing device-based alarm server .............................................. 155
Upgrade an existing tag-based alarm server .................................................... 157
Check the status of an alarm server ................................................................. 159
Table of contents
Appendix A
Get started with language Before you begin.................................................................................................. 161

switching What you need .................................................................................................... 162
Create device-based alarm messages ................................................................ 163
Translate alarm messages using import and export ............................... 164
Create tag-based alarm messages ...................................................................... 170
Enter text strings in FactoryTalk View Studio ....................................... 171
Add languages to the application ..................................................................... 175
Add buttons to a graphic display to switch languages at run time ............. 177
Enter alarm messages in other languages ........................................................ 182
Create a Display Client configuration file to test alarm messages ............. 192
Test alarm messages at run time ....................................................................... 198
Summary and tips for setting up language switching ................................... 202
Text that supports language switching .................................................... 202
Text that does not support language switching...................................... 203
Alarm and Event Summary and Alarm and Event Banner .................. 203
Alarm and Event Log Viewer .................................................................... 204
Appendix B
System performance and Controller specifications ................................................................................... 205

limits Controllers with revision 24 ...................................................................... 205
Controllers with revision 20 or earlier ..................................................... 206
Tested system limits ........................................................................................... 206
Tested topology: redundant.............................................................................. 208
Appendix C
Install FactoryTalk Alarms Summary of steps ................................................................................................ 209

and Events manually Confirm that FactoryTalk Services Platform is installed ............................ 210
Install FactoryTalk Alarms and Events........................................................... 210
Appendix D
Install SQL Server 2008 Operating systems............................................................................................... 211

Express Summary of steps ................................................................................................ 212
Step 1. Open the FTView folder ...................................................................... 212
Step 2. Install the .NET Framework and other prerequisite software ...... 212
.NET Framework ........................................................................................ 212
MSXML6 ...................................................................................................... 213
Table of contents
Windows Installer 4.5................................................................................. 213

Windows PowerShell 1.0 ........................................................................... 214
Step 3. Run the SQL Server Install batch file (not the .exe) ....................... 214
Step 4. Configure the Windows firewall ........................................................ 215
Appendix E
Use an Existing SQL Server Supported SQL Server databases ..................................................................... 217
database Remote connections to the SQL Server database ......................................... 217
Summary of steps ................................................................................................ 217
Step 1. Install SQL Server Management Tools ...................................... 218
Step 2. Specify Mixed Mode authentication for the SQL Server
database ......................................................................................................... 218
Step 3. Configure TCP/IP protocol for the database ........................... 219
Step 4. Enable the SQL Server Browser service ...................................... 219
Step 5. Configure the Windows Firewall ................................................ 220
Appendix F
Alarm time stamping Overview of time keeping.................................................................................. 221

Coordinated System Time (CST) ............................................................ 221
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) ...................................................... 222
Local Time (Wall Clock Time) ................................................................ 222
ALMD and ALMA alarm blocks..................................................................... 223
Insert time stamps manually ...................................................................... 226
Example ................................................................................................................ 226
Appendix G
Time synchronization Coordinate multiple controller wall clocks.................................................... 227

Install the Logix5000 Clock Update Tool ..................................................... 228
Start the Logix5000 Clock Update Tool ....................................................... 228
Start the Update Tool automatically ....................................................... 228
Use the Logix5000 Clock Update Tool ......................................................... 229
Synchronize devices on a schedule ................................................................... 229
Create a synchronization schedule ........................................................... 230
Add devices .......................................................................................................... 231
To add a device: ........................................................................................... 232
Remove a device ........................................................................................... 233
View details about a device......................................................................... 234
Assign devices to synchronization schedules ................................................. 234
Synchronize devices manually .......................................................................... 235
Table of contents
View the log file ................................................................................................... 236

Change the location of the log file ............................................................ 236
Time stamps with tag-based alarms ................................................................. 237
Supported devices ............................................................................................... 237
Appendix H
Reference for building a When installing FactoryTalk Alarms & Events ............................................ 239
distributed system Typical distributed system on a network........................................................ 239
Appendix I
Language identifiers for Language identifiers ........................................................................................... 241

language switching
Appendix J
Glossary
Legal Notices
Index
Chapter 1
What you need to get started
The FactoryTalk System Configuration Guide describes the tasks that are required
to install, configure, and use FactoryTalk® Alarms and Events services as part of a
FactoryTalk-enabled automation system. This guide also includes references to
additional documentation that provides more detail.
Important: This guide describes how to set up a local station application. However,
the procedure for setting up a network station application or network
distributed application is similar. This guide provides information about
the latter two applications where it is necessary. See the Help included
with the individual software products used to configure and use Alarms
and Events services.
Required software The following software is required to configure and operate FactoryTalk Alarms
and Events services:
Software Version
FactoryTalk Services Platform 2.10 or later
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events 2.10 or later (included with FactoryTalk View Site Edition and RSLinx®
Enterprise)
RSLinx Enterprise 5.00 or later
Logix5000™ 16.03 or later (or the Logix Designer application version 21.00 or later)
Logix Designer 21.00 or later (or RSLogix™ 5000 software version 16.03 or later)
RSLogix 500 Version that supports FactoryTalk Services Platform 2.10 or later
RSLogix 5 Version that supports FactoryTalk Services Platform 2.10 or later
FactoryTalk View SE 5.00 or later
FactoryTalk View Studio 5.00 or later
RSLinx® Classic (used for Logix 2.50.20 or later
programming)
ControlFLASH™ 4.00.09 (used to download firmware)
SoftLogix™ 16.03 or later
Microsoft®SQL Server® Version that supports FactoryTalk Alarms and Events historical logging. For more
information, see Supported SQL Server databases on page 217.
SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express is provided on the FactoryTalk View installation
DVD for CPR 9 SR 7. For installation instructions, see Install Microsoft SQL Server
2008 R2 SP2 Express on page 211.
Chapter 1 What you need to get started
Recommended hardware The hardware and supported operating systems that are recommended to run
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events are the same as those recommended to run
and supported operating FactoryTalk View Site Edition. For details, see the FactoryTalk View Site Edition
systems Installation Guide. To access the guide, in the FactoryTalk View Studio toolbar
click Help, point to Online Books, and then click Installation Guide.
Logix5000 controllers
The Logix5000 controllers listed in the following table support FactoryTalk
Alarms and Events services. When you use built-in alarm instructions in
Logix5000 controllers, these controllers require a firmware update to revision
16.20 or later (excluding 21 to 23). If you do not want to update the firmware in
your controllers, use a Tag Alarm and Event Server for software-based alarms and
events. See Decide what type of alarm monitoring you need on page 24.
Catalog number Name

1756-L61 ControlLogix® Processor
1756-L62 ControlLogix Processor
1756-5555 5555 ControlLogix Processor
1768-L43 CompactLogix™ L43 Controller
1769-L31 CompactLogix L31 Controller
1769-L32C CompactLogix L32C Controller
1769-L32E CompactLogix L32E Controller
1769-L35CR CompactLogix L35CR Controller
1769-L35E CompactLogix L35E Controller
1794-L34 FlexLogix™ L34 Controller
1756-L61S ControlLogix Safety Processor
1756-L62S ControlLogix Safety Processor
PowerFlex® 700S 2 DriveLogix™5370
1789-L60 SoftLogix5800
EMULATE RSLogix Emulate 5000
The following controllers with firmware revision 24 also support FactoryTalk

Alarms and Events services:
Catalog number Name

ControlLogix 1756-L71 Series B ControlLogix Processor
ControlLogix 1756-L71S Series B ControlLogix Safety Processor
ControlLogix 1756-L72 Series A ControlLogix Processor
What you need to get started Chapter 1
Catalog number Name

GuardLogix® 1756-L72S Series B ControlLogix Safety Processor
ControlLogix 1756-L73XT Series B ControlLogix Processor
GuardLogix 1756-L73S Series B ControlLogix Safety Processor
GuardLogix 1756-L73SXT Series B ControlLogix Safety Processor
CompactLogix 1769-L16ER-BB1B CompactLogix L16ER-BB1B Controller
CompactLogix 1769-L18ER-BB1B CompactLogix L18ER-BB1B Controller
CompactLogix 1769-L18ERM-BB1B CompactLogix L18ERM-BB1B Controller
CompactLogix 1769-L24ER-QB1B CompactLogix L24ER-QB1B Controller
CompactLogix 1769-L24ER-QBFC1B CompactLogix L24ER-QBFC1B Controller
CompactLogix 1769-L27ERM-QBFC1B CompactLogix L27ERM-QBFC1B Controller
CompactLogix 1769-L30ER CompactLogix L30ER Controller
CompactLogix 1769-L30ER-NSE CompactLogix L30ER-NSE Controller
CompactLogix 1769-L30ERM CompactLogix L30ERM Controller
CompactLogix 1769-L33ER CompactLogix L33ER Controller
SoftLogix 1789-L60 SoftLogix5800
Compatible firmware
The controller firmware revisions listed in the following table are compatible with
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services:
Controller Firmware revision

ControlLogix
CompactLogix L3x and L4x 16.20 or higher
DriveLogix
ControlLogix Redundant Systems 16.60 or higher (excluding 21 to 23)
SoftLogix 16.03 or higher (excluding 21 to 23)
Chapter 1 What you need to get started
Older controllers
These controllers also support FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services:
• Logix5000 controllers that communicate with RSLinx Enterprise, using

Tag Alarm and Event Servers.
• PLC-5® and SLC™ 500 controllers that communicate with RSLinx
Enterprise (or RSLinx Classic to bridge from Ethernet to DH+™ or
DH-485 networks), using Tag Alarm and Event Servers.
• Third-party PLCs that communicate with OPC® Data Servers such as
KEPWare, using Tag Alarm and Event Servers.
How to get the information For more information about the products and components discussed in this guide,
you need the following manuals and Help files are available:
• FactoryTalk Help (Start > All Programs > Rockwell Software >
FactoryTalk Tools > FactoryTalk Help)
• RSLogix 5000 Help (for help with developing a controller project)
• RSLogix 5000 Quick Start
• RSLogix 5000 Online Books
• FactoryTalk View Site Edition SE Installation Guide (available from the
Help menu when you run FactoryTalk View Site Edition)
• FactoryTalk View Site Edition SE User Guide (available from the Help
menu when you run FactoryTalk View Site Edition)
• RSLinx Classic Help (for help with configuring drivers and creating topics)
• RSLinx Classic Quick Start Guide
• RSLinx Enterprise Getting Results Guide
• RSLinx Enterprise Help
Chapter 2
Overview of FactoryTalk Alarms and Events

services
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events was introduced with FactoryTalk Service

Platform 2.0 (CPR 9) and FactoryTalk View Site Edition 5.0 (CPR 9) to provide
a common, consistent view of alarms and events throughout a FactoryTalk system.
Beginning with FactoryTalk Alarms and Events 2.30 (CPR 9 SR 3), device-based
and tag-based servers support redundant server configuration.
FactoryTalk View Site Edition HMI tag alarm monitoring is still supported to
maintain compatibility with existing applications.
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events supports two types of alarm monitoring:
• Device-based alarm monitoring. Built-in alarm instructions, that are

available in the Logix Designer application (RSLogix 5000 software version
16 or later), are programmed in a logic project and then downloaded to a
Logix5000 controller. The controller detects alarm conditions and
publishes event information, which can be displayed and logged.
• Tag-based alarm monitoring. If you are not using Logix5000 controllers,
or if you do not want to use the built-in alarm instructions that are available
with the Logix Designer application, tag-based alarm monitoring offers the
equivalent of HMI tag alarm monitoring, but with an expanded feature set.
Software-based Tag Alarm and Event servers monitor controllers for alarm
conditions through data servers and publish event information that can be
displayed and logged. Tag-based alarm monitoring is supported for
Logix5000 controllers, PLC-5, and SLC 500 devices communicating
through Rockwell Automation® device servers (RSLinx Enterprise), or for
third-party controllers communicating through OPC Data Servers.
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events:
• Provides a single, integrated set of alarm information. All participating

FactoryTalk products work together to provide a consistent way to define,
manage, log, and view alarm and event information across a FactoryTalk
application.
• Streamlines alarm programming and eliminates polling with
device-based alarm monitoring. If your automation system includes
Logix5000 controllers, you can use pre-built alarm instructions, available in
Chapter 2 Overview of FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services
the Logix Designer application (RSLogix 5000 software version 16 or later),

to simplify coding, and then download them to the controller. Device-based
alarm monitoring eliminates the need for duplicating alarm tags in an HMI
server and requires fewer controller communication resources by
eliminating polling.
• Supports other controllers in the integrated system with tag-based
alarm monitoring. If your automation system includes other Rockwell
Automation controllers, such as PLC-5s or SLC 500s, or if you prefer not to
use the new alarm instructions with Logix5000 controllers, software-based
tag servers monitor controllers for alarm conditions and publish event
information.
• Monitors alarms and events from third-party controllers. Tag-based
alarm monitoring also makes it possible to monitor alarm conditions from
third-party controllers, which communicate through OPC Data Servers.
• Provides accurate time stamps on alarm conditions that are generated
from Logix5000 controllers using device-based alarm monitoring. When
you use device-based alarm monitoring, timestamps are applied immediately
in the controller and are not delayed until alarms reach an HMI server. To
make sure that the timestamps on device-based alarms are accurate,
synchronize the clocks of all controllers that produce alarms. The event
time is propagated throughout the FactoryTalk Alarms and Events system,
so inaccurate timestamps can affect where alarms are displayed in the Alarm
and Event Summary or the Alarm and Event Banner as well as reports about
the alarm and event history. For more information about synchronizing
controller clocks, see Time synchronization on page 227.)
• Sends process data with events and messages. You can associate up to
four tags with each alarm to include process data with event information
and alarm messages.
• Secures access to alarm and event operations through integration with
FactoryTalk Security.
• Generates messages for logging. Log messages include audit messages that
track operator actions, system-related diagnostic messages, and historical
alarm and event messages.
• Shows alarm messages and status information at run time, in FactoryTalk
View graphic displays.
Choose between HMI Tag HMI tag alarm monitoring and FactoryTalk Alarms and Events are two separate
Alarm Monitoring and alarm monitoring systems that do not share alarm information with each other.
FactoryTalk tag-based and device-based alarm information can only be displayed
FactoryTalk Alarms and in the FactoryTalk alarm and event objects. FactoryTalk View HMI tag alarm
Events information cannot be displayed in FactoryTalk alarm and event objects.
Overview of FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services Chapter 2
If you are already using HMI tag alarm monitoring in existing applications you can
continue using it. However, to take advantage of the new features of FactoryTalk
Alarms and Events you will need to migrate your existing alarm monitoring system
to FactoryTalk Alarms and Events.
Migrate to FactoryTalk Alarms and Events if you want to:
• Use device-based alarm monitoring. You can use a Logix5000 controller not
only to detect alarms, but also to monitor alarms. This keeps all alarm and
event processing in the controller. To use device-based alarm monitoring,
add the built-in alarm instructions, available in the Logix Designer
application (or RSLogix 5000 software version 16 or later), to a logic project
and then download the project to a Logix5000 controller. The controller
detects alarm conditions and publishes event information, which can be
displayed and logged.
• Use language-switching with alarm messages. Language switching is not
supported for alarm messages when you use HMI tag alarm monitoring in
FactoryTalk View Site Edition. FactoryTalk View Machine Edition
supports language-switching with alarm messages in version 5.0 or later.
• Take advantage of the richer feature set offered by FactoryTalk Alarms and
Events, including:
• Redundant software-based Tag Alarm and Event servers that monitor
controllers for alarm conditions through data servers and publish event
information that can be displayed and logged.
• Configurable Alarm and Event Summary that includes the ability to
suppress alarms directly from the summary, without the use of separate
commands.
• Alarm and Event Banner, Alarm and Event Log Viewer, and Alarm
Status Explorer objects that are hosted in graphic displays. You can use
the Alarm Status Explorer to enable or disable alarms, suppress or
unsuppress alarms, shelve or unshelve alarms, and view operator
comments.
• System-wide views in the Alarm and Event Banner, rather than just the
alarms in a single HMI server exposed by the system\AlarmBanner
system tag.
Where to start Here is an overview of the sections covered in this guide:
FactoryTalk Alarms and The following diagram shows a high-level view of the components of the
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events system. For more detailed information, see
Events components FactoryTalk Alarms and Events Help. In Windows®, click Start > All Programs >
Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk Alarms and Events > User Documentation
> FactoryTalk Alarms and Events Help.
1. Device-based alarm monitoring
To configure device-based alarm monitoring, you program alarm

instructions available in the Logix Designer application (RSLogix 5000
software version 16 or later), and then download them to Logix5000
controllers. The controller detects alarm conditions and notifies a Rockwell
Automation device server (RSLinx Enterprise) of alarm states. RSLinx
Enterprise extracts the alarm information and publishes it to FactoryTalk
Alarms and Events services.
Use device-based alarm monitoring with:
• Logix5000 controllers, that you have programmed with the Logix

Designer application (RSLogix 5000 software version 16 or later), and
Rockwell Automation device servers (RSLinx Enterprise).
2. Tag-based alarm monitoring
The Tag Alarm and Event Server uses tags to monitor programmable
controllers for alarm conditions. When an alarm condition is detected, the
server publishes the information to FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services.
Use tag-based alarm monitoring with:
• PLC-5 or SLC 500 devices, and Rockwell Automation device servers

(RSLinx Enterprise)
• RSLinx Classic or RSLinx Gateway
• Third-party controllers and OPC Data Servers
• Logix5000 controllers
3. FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services
Both device-based and tag-based alarms and events are published to

FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services, which then routes the information
to FactoryTalk Alarms and Events objects hosted in FactoryTalk View, to
the alarm and event history log, and to diagnostic logs and audit logs.
4. Alarm and Event Historian and Log
The Alarm and Event Historian is a logging component that installs silently
as part of the alarms and events software. It manages connections between
alarm servers and databases and logs data from each alarm server to an alarm
history database. You can use the Alarm and Event Log Viewer to view and
print data from alarm history databases. Third-party database tools can also
retrieve, view, analyze, and print alarm history information.
To use alarm and event logging, install Microsoft SQL Server separately, or
use an existing Microsoft SQL Server database.
5. Diagnostic and audit logs
FactoryTalk Diagnostics routes messages generated by FactoryTalk Alarms

and Events to local logs on the computers hosting FactoryTalk components,
and optionally to a centralized database log. Audit messages are also routed
to the local log and to the FactoryTalk Audit Log if FactoryTalk
AssetCentre is installed.
6. Alarm and event setup and monitoring
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events includes a number of software components

that allow engineers and operators to define alarm conditions, set up alarm
servers, view and interact with alarm conditions, and view and run reports
on historical alarm information:
Component Name Description

Alarm and Event Summary Use the Alarm and Event Summary object, embedded in a FactoryTalk
View graphic display, to view and interact with the most recent
unacknowledged alarms.
Alarm and Event Banner Use the Alarm and Event Banner object, embedded in a FactoryTalk View
graphic display, to monitor and respond to the most serious alarms that
require immediate attention.
Alarm Status Explorer Use the Alarm Status Explorer object, embedded in a FactoryTalk View
graphic display, to view and interact with all alarms.
Database definitions Use database definitions to define logging options from an alarm server to
a Microsoft SQL Server database.
Alarm and Event Log Viewer Use the Alarm and Event Log Viewer object, embedded in a FactoryTalk
View graphic display, to view and filter historical alarm information stored
in Microsoft SQL Server databases.
Diagnostics Viewer Use the Diagnostics Viewer to view, filter, and export system-generated
diagnostic messages. Run the Diagnostics Viewer from either FactoryTalk
View Studio or FactoryTalk Administration Console.
FactoryTalk Audit Log Use the FactoryTalk Audit Log to view and manage audit messages routed
by FactoryTalk Diagnostics. To access the Audit Log, use the FactoryTalk
AssetCentre software.
You can monitor for alarm conditions in either of two ways--using device-based
About monitoring for alarm
alarm monitoring, or software-based alarm monitoring.
conditions
About device-based alarm monitoring

With device-based alarm monitoring, detection and monitoring for alarm
conditions are both done in the controller. This is in contrast to software-based
alarm monitoring, where alarm detection occurs in the controller, but alarm
monitoring is performed by software-based servers.
Device-based alarm monitoring workflow
This approach has several advantages over tag- or software-based alarm detection:
• Alarm instructions are programmed only once, and then downloaded to the
controller, which reduces programming effort and errors.
• Alarm conditions are detected more quickly.
• Alarms are detected at the same time the logic is being executed.
• HMI tags or alarms in a Tag Alarm and Event Server are not required,
which reduces overhead and potential tag mapping errors.
• Alarm state is managed, processed, and preserved by controllers, even if a
computer is stopped.
• Data polling is eliminated and Alarm status is communicated only when
state changes, which reduces network overhead, controller processing, and
improves overall system performance.
• Time stamps on alarm conditions are precise, because they are applied in the
controller, and not delayed until they reach the HMI software or Tag Alarm
and Event Server. However, all controllers that produce alarms must have
their clocks synchronized because device-based alarms are stamped with the
controller's time. The event time is published throughout the FactoryTalk
Alarms and Events system, so inaccurate time stamps can affect where
alarms are displayed in the Alarm and Event Summary, the Alarm and
Event Banner, or in reports based on the alarm and event history. For more
information about synchronizing controller clocks, see Time
synchronization on page 227.
About software-based alarm monitoring

HMI tag alarm monitoring, offered by FactoryTalk View Site Edition (SE), and
tag-based alarm monitoring, offered by FactoryTalk Alarms and Events, are both
examples of software-based alarm monitoring.
Software-based alarm monitoring is a generic way of monitoring alarms from

legacy or third-party controllers.
With software-based alarm monitoring, alarm detection occurs in the controller,

but alarm monitoring is performed by software-based servers.
Tag-based alarm monitoring workflow
This approach has several disadvantages:
• Programming is required in both the controller, and the HMI software or

Tag Alarm and Event Server.
• Tags must be duplicated in the HMI server and mapped to the controller.
For Tag Alarm and Event Servers, controller tags must be mapped to
alarms--which can be a tedious, error-prone process.
• Alarms are detected and processed twice, first in the controller logic and
then again in the HMI software or Tag Alarm and Event Server.
• Polling between the HMI server or Tag Alarm and Event Server and
controller tags increases network overhead.
• Alarm time stamps are delayed because they are applied by the HMI server
or Tag Alarm and Event Server after polling and processing, rather than
immediately when they occur. Time stamps are not synchronized among
multiple alarm servers.
• Alarm acknowledge and enable states are held in the computer, and not in
the controller. If the computer fails, alarm state information is lost.
Choose between Use device-based alarm monitoring with:

device-based and tag-based • Logix5000 controllers, using downloaded alarm instructions programmed
alarm monitoring with the Logix Designer application (or RSLogix 5000 software version 16
or later)
Use tag-based alarm monitoring with:
• Logix5000 controllers
• PLC-5, SLC 500 devices
• Third-party controllers that communicate through OPC Data Servers
Graphic objects in FactoryTalk Alarms and Events graphic objects are on the Objects menu in the
FactoryTalk Alarms and graphics editor in FactoryTalk View Site Edition. The HMI tag alarm monitoring
objects remain available for compatibility with existing applications.
Events
In HMI tag alarm monitoring, you do With FactoryTalk Alarms and Events,
To do this it this way you do it this way
Acknowledge, disable, HMI Tag Alarm Summary Alarm and Event Summary
suppress, filter, and sort
alarms at run time
Enable or disable alarms, HMI Tag Alarm Summary (suppress only, Alarm and Event Summary (suppress only;
suppress or unsuppress using the Execute feature) to unsuppress alarms, use the Alarm
alarms, and view operator SuppressOn and SuppressOff commands Status Explorer)
comments Suppressed list
Alarm Status Explorer
Monitor and respond to the Alarm system tags Alarm and Event Banner
most serious alarms that
require immediate attention
View, filter, and print HMI Tag Alarm Log Viewer Alarm and Event Log Viewer
historical alarm information Alarms are logged to a proprietary format, Historical alarm information is stored in
and can be exported to an ODBC-compliant Microsoft SQL Server databases.
database.
Chapter 3
Plan your system
Before you build and deploy FactoryTalk Alarms and Events as part of a local or
network application, consider which computer hardware and operating systems
you plan to use, and where to install the various hardware and software
components. The information in this chapter offers some guidelines as you begin
planning. See also Required software on page 9 and Recommended hardware and
supported operating systems on page 10.
Decide what type of You must decide whether you are building a local station application or network
station application on a stand-alone computer, or a network distributed
application you are building application distributed across multiple computers. This system configuration
guide primarily discusses how to install, configure, and use software on a
stand-alone system.
Important: FactoryTalk Alarms and Events is not supported for use with FactoryTalk
View Machine Edition.
• Network distributed applications are held in a FactoryTalk Network

Directory. Participating software products can be located on multiple
computers, distributed across a network. All of the computers participating
in a particular network distributed application share a common Network
Directory Server located on a network computer. See Typical distributed
system on a network on page 239 for a graphical overview.
The application you create in the Network Directory can be divided into
any number of areas. Each area can contain one or more sub-areas and one
or more data servers. Each area or sub-area can contain only one HMI
server. A network distributed application supports FactoryTalk Alarms and
Events redundancy.
• Network station applications are held in a FactoryTalk Network

Directory. All participating software products (except for data servers) must
be installed on the same computer. Network station applications can
connect to data servers that are located on different machines. All of the
computers participating in a particular network station application share a
common Network Directory Server located on a network computer. See
Typical stand-alone system on page 26 for a graphical overview.
The application you create in the Network Directory can be divided into
any number of areas. Each area can contain one or more sub-areas and one
or more data servers. A network station application consists of only one
Chapter 3 Plan your system
HMI server. You can add the HMI server in the root area or within the
areas you have created. A network station application supports FactoryTalk
Alarms and Events redundancy.
• Local station applications are suitable for self-contained, stand-alone

processes that do not interact with other processes or systems. Local station
applications are held in a FactoryTalk Local Directory and are accessible
only from the local computer where they reside. Even if the computer is
connected to a network and even if a network application resides on the
same computer, the applications you create in the FactoryTalk Local
Directory remain self-contained and do not share data or project elements.
Local station applications do not support areas, and all application
components and participating software products are located on a single
computer. See Typical stand-alone system on page 26 for a graphical
overview.
Important: To use FactoryTalk Alarms and Events with a local station application,
install all software on the same computer.
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events redundancy is only supported in network
station applications and network distributed applications.
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events supports two types of alarm monitoring:

Decide what type of alarm
monitoring you need • Device-based alarm monitoring. Built-in alarm instructions, that are
available in the Logix Designer application (RSLogix 5000 software version
16 or later), are programmed in a logic project and then downloaded to a
Logix5000 controller. The controller detects alarm conditions and
publishes event information, which can be displayed and logged.
• Tag-based alarm monitoring. Software-based tag alarm and event servers
monitor controllers for alarm conditions through data servers and publish
event information, which can be displayed and logged. Tag-based alarm
monitoring is supported for Logix5000, PLC-5, and SLC 500 devices
communicating through Rockwell Automation device servers (RSLinx
Enterprise), or for third-party controllers that communicate through OPC
Data Servers.
You can use a mix of both types of alarm monitoring. Choose tag-based alarm
monitoring if you do not want to change the logic in your programmable
controllers, or if you do not want to update the firmware in Logix5000 controllers.
What you need • Decide what type of application you are building.
• Decide what type of alarm monitoring you need.
• Install and activate FactoryTalk software.
Plan your system Chapter 3
• Update Logix5000 firmware to revision 16.20 or later (excluding 21 to 23),

if you plan to use device-based alarm monitoring and alarm instructions
that are built into Logix5000 controllers. If you do not plan to use
device-based alarm instructions, you can skip this step and use tag-based
alarm monitoring with a Tag Alarm and Event Server instead.
Follow these steps
Install and activate Follow these procedures to install and activate the software products required for
FactoryTalk software FactoryTalk Alarms and Events.
Important: This guide describes how to set up a local station application. The
procedure to set up a network station application or network distributed
application is similar. This guide provides additional information about the
two applications where it is necessary. See also Reference for building a
distributed system on page 239.
For more information about each software product, see its respective product
Help.
Chapter 3 Plan your system
Typical stand-alone system

To use FactoryTalk Alarms and Events with a local station application or a
network station application as part of a stand-alone FactoryTalk system, install all
software on the same computer. Use this diagram only as a starting point--your
own system will vary.
Install FactoryTalk software

For specific installation instructions, refer to the installation guide for each
product.
• To develop or run local station applications, install all the necessary

software components on one computer.
• To develop or run network station applications, install all the necessary
software components (except for data servers) on one computer. Network
station applications can connect to data servers that are located on different
machines.
• To develop or run network distributed applications, install different
combinations of software on each computer, depending on your needs. For
more information, see FactoryTalk Help. Click Start > All Programs >
Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk Tools > FactoryTalk Help.
Plan your system Chapter 3
Important: This guide provides additional information about network distributed

applications or network station applications where it is necessary. See
Reference for building a distributed system on page 239.
To set up a FactoryTalk system, install the following software:
• FactoryTalk Services Platform

• FactoryTalk Activation
• FactoryTalk View Site Edition
• RSLinx Enterprise
• RSLinx Classic
• The Studio 5000 Logix Designer application (known previously as RSLogix
5000 software)
• Update Logix5000 firmware to revision 16.20 or later (excluding 21 to 23).
If you plan to use device-based alarm monitoring see Decide what type of
alarm monitoring you need on page 24.
Tip: To take advantage of the new alarms functionality in the v24 firmware, we
recommend you install FactoryTalk Services Platform v2.71 or later and update
your controller firmware to revision 24 or later.
Install Microsoft SQL Server

If you plan to log historical alarm and event messages to a database, you must
install Microsoft SQL Server software on the computer you want to use for
logging. If you do not have Microsoft SQL Server software installed, see Install
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express on page 211.
Tip: If you already have Microsoft SQL Server installed, you may need to change the
configuration options to log alarm and event messages. For configuration
instructions, see Use an existing Microsoft SQL Server database on page 217.
Chapter 4
Define device-based alarms in Logix5000

controllers
To set up device-based alarm monitoring, you program alarm instructions that are
available with the Logix Designer application (RSLogix 5000 software version 16
or later), and download them to a Logix5000 controller. The controller detects
alarm conditions and notifies alarms and events services of alarm states. Software
components publish this information to a device server, where it can be logged to a
database, and viewed, acknowledged, suppressed, enabled, disabled, shelved, or
unshelved from FactoryTalk View graphic displays.
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events can handle many different types of alarms. The
controller limits the alarms to digital and analog. An analog alarm instruction
monitors two types of alarm conditions: Level and Rate of Change. A tag-based
alarm server supports three alarm types: Digital, Level, and Deviation.
A digital alarm instruction is based on the input rung state (in ladder logic) or on
the alarm input (for function block). The trigger condition compares the value of
the tag to either zero or one.
An analog alarm defines a condition that evaluates a single analog tag against up to
four limit values (high-high to low-low) and up to two rate of change limits
(positive and negative).
Tip: If your FactoryTalk application does not include Logix5000 controllers, or if your
controllers are not programmed with the alarm instructions included in the Logix
Designer application (RSLogix 5000 software version 16 or later), see Add an OPC
Data Server for third-party controllers on page 63 and Add a tag-based alarm
server for Logix5000, PLC-5, SLC 500, or third-party controllers on page 67.
Alarm buffering during loss To receive device-based alarms, the alarm server (RSLinx Enterprise) establishes a
of connection to the subscription to the alarms in the Logix controller. The controller maintains a
connection to each subscriber and monitors the status of that connection.
controller
As alarm state changes occur, the controller caches information such as
timestamps, alarm state and associated tag values, and transmits the information to
all of the subscribers.
If any subscriber fails to confirm the receipt of the alarm information, or if the
connection to a subscriber is not good, the controller stores the undelivered alarm
Chapter 4 Define device-based alarms in Logix5000 controllers
information in a 100 KB buffer. Each subscriber has its own buffer and
communication problems with one subscriber do not interfere with alarm delivery
to other subscribers. When the buffer is full, newer alarm information is discarded
and a FactoryTalk Diagnostics message is logged. The buffer is created when the
subscriber establishes its initial connection, and is maintained for a length of time
after a subscriber loses its connection. The length of time is specified in the Buffer
Timeout setting on each RSLinx Enterprise device shortcut. See step 3, "Create a
new shortcut to the controller," in Add a device server on page 54.
Important: Firmware revision 21 to revision 23 do not support the new alarms

functionality. The buffer timeout setting is not available to controllers
with firmware revision 24 or later. For controllers with version 20 or
earlier, we recommend that you do not change the default buffering time
unless instructed by Technical Support.
Before you begin • Review Plan your system on page 23.

• Verify that you have installed and activated the software listed in the next
section under What you need on page 30.
• Verify that the Logix5000 firmware has been updated to revision 16 or later
(excluding revisions 21 to 23).
Tip: To take advantage of the new alarms functionality in the revision 24 firmware, we
recommend you install FactoryTalk Services Platform software version 2.71 or
later, and update your controller firmware to revision 24 or later.
What you need • Logix Designer application (RSLogix 5000 software)

• ControlFLASH
• RSLinx Classic
Define device-based alarms in Logix5000 controllers Chapter 4
Follow these steps
Define a digital alarm Digital tags are either on or off. They have states instead of limits. The alarm
trigger condition compares the value of the tag to the configured alarm state. An
alarm can be triggered if the digital alarm is in one of these two states:
• The rung evaluation or input tag is equal to zero

• The rung evaluation or input tag is not equal to zero
Configure the alarm and download to the controller

This example uses the ladder logic editor that comes with the Logix Designer
application (RSLogix 5000 software) to define a digital alarm. You can also
configure digital alarms in function blocks or structured text.
Step 1. Create a rung of logic that will trigger the alarm
1. Create a new project with default settings. In this example, we use

West_Plant_Controller.
2. In the left pane, expand the folders Tasks > MainTask > MainProgram,
and then double-click MainRoutine.
3. On the Language Element toolbar, click the Examine-on instruction

button to add it to a rung on the ladder project.
4. At the top of the Examine-on instruction, click the question mark to select
it. On the File menu, click New Component, and then click Tag.
5. In the New Tag dialog box, type a name for the tag, choose BOOL as the
data type, and then click OK.
In our example, we name the tag alarm_active.
Step 2. Add a digital alarm instruction to the rung
1. On the Language Element toolbar, click the Alarms tab, and then click the
ALMD button . The instruction block is placed in the ladder logic.
If you are using RSLogix 5000 version 20 or earlier, the instruction block is
like this:
2. Inside the alarm instruction, beside ALMD, select the question mark.
3. On the File menu, click New Component, and then click Tag.
4. In the dialog box that opens, type a name for the digital alarm tag, and then
click OK (or in Logix Designer click the arrow and then click Create and
Close).
In our example, we named the tag DigitalAlarm1.
Step 3. Specify a tag for each of the digital alarm's operands, or just enter 0
1. Inside the alarm instruction, select the ProgAck operand.
2. On the File menu, click New Component, and then click Tag.
3. In the New Tag dialog box, type a name for the tag, select BOOL as the
data type, and then click OK (or in Logix Designer click the arrow and then
click Create and Close)..
In our example, we named the tag DigitalAlarm1_Ack. For details about

using the New Tag dialog box, click Help.
like this:
4. Create tags for the ProgReset, ProgDisable, and ProgEnable operands.

When you are finished, the alarm instruction should resemble the one
shown here:
like this:
Step 4. Configure the properties of the new digital alarm tag
1. Inside the alarm instruction, click the Browse button (...).
2. In the ALMD Properties dialog box, specify configuration settings, and

then click OK. For help with specifying configuration settings, click Help.
If you are using RSLogix 5000 version 20 or earlier, the ALMD Properties
dialog box is like this:
Tip: To create a text message with embedded variables for each alarm, click the Message box Browse button (...).
At run time, these messages appear in Alarm and Event graphic objects, such as the Alarm and Event Summary.
The maximum length of an alarm message is 255 characters. When importing alarm messages, the Logix
Designer application (or RSLogix 5000 software) will verify the message length and display a warning if the
alarm message exceeds the character limit.
Step 5. Download the program containing the ladder logic to the controller
1. If it is not already running, start RSLinx Classic to establish

communications between the controller and the Logix Designer application
(or RSLogix 5000 software).
2. On the Logix Designer application menu, click Communications > Who

Active.
3. If it is not already highlighted, select the controller to which you want to

download the project.
In this example, use the same controller you configured for the
West_Plant_Controller project in the first step: "Create a rung of logic that
will trigger the alarm."
4. Click Download. At the prompt, click Download again. The controller is

placed in Program mode.
Step 6. Test the alarm instruction by switching to run mode and triggering
the alarm
1. On the Logix Designer application menu, click Communications > Run

Mode. Click Yes to switch the controller to run mode.
2. To trigger the alarm, right-click the contact on the rung (the one named
alarm_active), and then click Toggle Bit. The contact should change from a
blue highlight to a green highlight.
Step 7. Finish creating alarms, and next steps
• Define additional digital alarms or analog alarms, using either ladder logic,
function blocks, or structured text, and download the logic to the
controller.
• When you finish defining alarms, create a device-based alarm server, and
then configure it to subscribe to events detected by the Logix5000
controller. See Add a device server for Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500
controllers on page 53 for instructions.
Define an analog alarm An analog alarm defines a condition that evaluates a single analog tag against up to
four limit values (high-high, hi, low, and low-low) and up to two rate of change
limits (positive and negative).
Configure the alarm and download it to the controller

This example uses the Function Block editor that comes with RSLogix 5000. You
can also configure analog alarms in ladder logic or structured text.
Step 1. Define a new routine
1. Create a new project with default settings. In this example, we use

East_Plant_Controller.
2. Expand the Tasks folder in the left pane, right-click MainProgram, and
then click New Routine.
3. In the New Routine dialog box, type a name for the routine. We use
alarm_active.
4. In the Type list, click Function Block Diagram.
5. Select the Open Routine check box, and then click OK.
The new routine appears in the Tasks folder under MainRoutine and the
routine opens on the right side of the RSLogix 5000 window:
Step 2. Build the function block logic
1. To add an alarm block, go to the tabs in the center right area (Favorites,
Add-On, and so on) as shown in the following illustration. Scroll to the
right, and then click the Alarms tab.
2. On the toolbar, click the ALMA button to add an Analog Alarm

block.
If you are using RSLogix 5000 version 20 or earlier, the Analog Alarm block
appears this way:
3. Using the same Alarm objects on the Language Element toolbar, click the
Input Reference icon . An Input Reference tag appears in the
Function Block editor:
4. Right-click the single question mark inside the symbol and then click New
Tag.
5. In the New Tag dialog box, type a name for the tag and then click OK.
In this example, we use AnalogAlarm1.
The screen should resemble the one shown in the following illustration:
6. Connect the input reference block to the Input of the ALMA block, as
shown in the following illustration, by dragging the block's contact point to
the contact point on the ALMA block.
Step 3. Configure the properties of the alarm block
1. Click the Browse button (...) on the alarm block.
2. In the ALMA Properties dialog box, set the Input Levels as shown in the
following illustration and then click OK. To require that an operator
acknowledge the alarm at run time, make sure the Acknowledgement
Required check box is selected.
If you are using RSLogix 5000 version 20 or earlier, this is the ALMA
Properties dialog box:
Tip: To enter alarm messages and add variables for analog alarms, select the Messages tab. To create a text message
with embedded variables, click the Browse button (...) beside the Level field, or beside the Rate of Change
field. At run time, alarm messages are displayed in Alarm and Event graphic objects such as the Alarm and Event
Summary.
Step 4. Add a JSR instruction to the MainRoutine to run the function block
1. Double-click MainRoutine to open it.
2. Right-click the first rung and then click Add Ladder Element.
3. In the Add Ladder Element dialog box, scroll down to the Program
Control folder and then double-click the folder to expand the list of
controls.
4. Select JSR and then click OK.
5. In the JSR instruction, double-click Routine Name and then click

alarm_active.
6. On the toolbar, click the Save button to save the configuration.
Step 5. Download the program to the controller
1. If it is not already running, start RSLinx Classic to establish

communications between the controller and the Logix Designer application
(RSLogix 5000 software version 16 or later).
2. On the Logix Designer application menu, click Communications > Who

Active.
3. Select the controller to which you want to download the project.
4. Click Download. At the prompt, click Download again.
5. To switch the controller to run mode, click Communications > Run

Mode.
Step 6. Finish creating alarms, and next steps
• Define additional digital alarms or analog alarms using either ladder logic,
function block, or structured text, and download the logic to the controller.
• When you finish defining alarms, create a device-based alarm server, and
then configure it to subscribe to events detected by the Logix5000
controller. See Add a device server for Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500
controllers on page 53.
Chapter 5
Add a device server for Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC

500 controllers
Add a device server to your application to use:
• Device-based alarms in Logix5000 controllers.

• Tag-based alarms in PLC-5, SLC 500, or Logix5000 controllers.
Before you begin • If you are using device-based alarms, define your alarms, as described in
Define device-based alarms in Logix5000 controllers on page 29.
• If you are using tag-based alarms, you create a controller program to detect
alarm conditions, and then associate those conditions with tags that are
monitored by the FactoryTalk Tag Alarm and Event Server.
What you need • RSLinx Enterprise

• FactoryTalk View Studio or FactoryTalk Administration Console
Tip: This guide uses FactoryTalk View Studio to define a device server. You can also use FactoryTalk Administration
Console. For more information, in the FactoryTalk Administration Console menu bar, select Help > Contents.
Chapter 5 Add a device server for Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500 controllers
Follow these steps
In this section, you will create a Rockwell Automation device server (RSLinx
Add a device server
Enterprise) and then configure it to subscribe to alarms that will be detected by a
Logix5000 controller.
Important: If you are using third-party controllers, you do not need a device-based alarm server. Instead, go to Add an
OPC Data Server for third-party controllers on page 63.
Step 1. Create an application in FactoryTalk View Studio
This example shows how to create a local station application.
1. To start FactoryTalk View Studio, click Start > All Programs > Rockwell
Software > FactoryTalk View > FactoryTalk View Studio.
Add a device server for Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500 controllers Chapter 5
2. In the Application Type Selection window, select View Site Edition

(Local Station) and then click Continue.
Important: FactoryTalk Alarms and Events is not supported for use with FactoryTalk View Machine Edition.
3. In the New/Open Site Edition (Local Station) Application dialog box,

click the New tab.
4. In the Application name field, type a name for the new local station
application. In this example, we name the application My Local Site.
5. Leave the Description field blank, or type a description for the application.
For example, you can use this field to record revisions to the application, or
contact information for technical support.
6. If it is not already selected, select the default language for the application.
This is the language in which you are creating the application.
7. Click Create.
8. In the Add Controller Instruction Faceplates dialog box, click Clear All
and then click OK.
Tip: If you have cleared the Display this dialog when creating a new application check box, the Add Controller
Instruction Faceplates dialog box does not open automatically. To open it manually, in the Explorer window
right-click the HMI server, and then select Add Controller Instruction Faceplates.
Step 2. Configure the device server
1. In the Explorer window, right-click the new application My Local Site,

point to Add New Server, and then click Rockwell Automation Device
Server (RSLinx Enterprise).
2. In the RSLinx Enterprise Server Properties dialog box, click the General
tab, type a name for the new server, and then click Apply. In this example,
we name the server FTAE Server. Leave this dialog box open for the
moment.
3. Do one of the following:
• If you plan to use tag-based alarms, you can skip the rest of the steps in
this section, and go on to the next major step: "Step 3. Create a new
shortcut to the controller." Click OK to close the RSLinx Enterprise
Server Properties dialog box.
• If you are using built-in alarm instructions in Logix5000 controllers,
continue with the steps in this section.
4. On the Alarms and Events tab, select the Enable alarm and event support
check box.
5. Clear the Enable history check box and then click OK. For information
about historical logging, see Set up historical alarm and event logging on
page 127.
The new server is added to the My Local Site application:
Step 3. Create a new shortcut to the controller
1. In the Explorer window, double-click the new RSLinx Enterprise server

and then double-click Communication Setup.
2. In the Communication Setup dialog box, click the Add button, and then
type a name for the new shortcut. We use FTAE_Controller.
Some options in this dialog box might be different if you are using PLC-5 or
SLC 500 controllers.
The warning icon beside the OK button indicates that changing values in
this dialog box at run time can cause unexpected results. For details, click
Help.
3. Skip this step if you do not plan to use Logix5000 controllers with built-in
alarm instructions. In the Enable list, click Yes to enable Alarms and
Events:
If you do not see the Enable list, then Enable alarm and event support was
not selected in the previous step 4.
Tip: Set Buffer Timeout (min.) for the length of time (zero to 120) you want to cache alarm information if the
connection to the controller is lost. To disable alarm buffering, set the value to zero. See Alarm Buffering during
loss of connection on page 29.
4. On the Primary tab, expand the list of networks and devices until the
controller you plan to use is visible, and then click the controller.
5. To set the path to the primary controller, click the Apply button.
6. To save the shortcut configuration and close the Communication Setup

dialog box, click OK.
Important: FactoryTalk Alarms and Events server redundancy is only supported in network station applications and
network distributed applications.
Step 4. Finish creating data servers, and next steps
1. If your FactoryTalk application includes third-party OPC-DA controllers,

add an OPC Data Server, create a tag-based alarm server, and then define
alarms. See Add an OPC Data Server for third-party controllers on page 63
and Add a tag-based alarm server for Logix5000, PLC-5, SLC 500, or
third-party controllers on page 67.
2. If your FactoryTalk application is communicating with PLC-5 or SLC 500

controllers, or Logix5000 controllers that are not using built-in alarm
instructions, you must add a device server (RSLinx Enterprise) to your
application and then create a tag-based alarm server and define alarms. See
Add a tag-based alarm server for Logix5000, PLC-5, SLC 500, or
3. After you create data servers and alarms, add FactoryTalk Alarms and
Events objects to graphic displays. See Set up graphic displays on page 79.
4. If your FactoryTalk network distributed application or network station

application plan calls for data redundancy, you will want to configure your
device-based alarm server for redundancy. We recommend leaving this step
until after the FactoryTalk application is fully configured and all HMI
features have been tested using non-redundant servers. Adding data server
redundancy does not affect the configuration of the graphic displays in the
HMI application. See Configure redundancy for alarms and events for more
information. on page 151
Important: FactoryTalk data server redundancy is only supported in network station applications and network
distributed applications.
Chapter 6
Add an OPC Data Server for third-party

controllers
To monitor alarms in a third-party controller, create a controller program to

detect alarm conditions and communicate them through tags. Use an OPC Data
Server (for example, KEPWare server) to obtain tag values from the controller,
and use a Tag Alarm and Event Server to monitor those tags for alarm conditions.
This chapter shows an example using RSLinx Classic as an OPC Data Server. In
most situations RSLinx Enterprise is used to communicate with a PLC-5 or
SLC 500 controller. However, at times RSLinx Classic is used to communicate
with a controller that is bridged over Ethernet to a DH+ or DH-485 network.
Before you begin • Review Plan your system on page 23.

• Verify that you have installed and activated the software listed under What
you need on page 63.
What you need • PLC-5, SLC 500 or third-party OPC-DA programmable controller
• RSLogix 5 or RSLogix 500 software
• RSLinx Classic software
• RSLinx Enterprise software
Chapter 6 Add an OPC Data Server for third-party controllers
Follow these steps
Add an OPC Data Server to When you add a data server to an application or area, tags published by the data
server can be accessed by any client--in this case, the Tag Alarm and Event Server.
an application
Important: This guide uses FactoryTalk View Studio to add a data server. You can also use FactoryTalk Administration
Console. For more information, select Help > Contents from the FactoryTalk Administration Console
window.
Step 1. Open an existing application in FactoryTalk View Studio
1. To run FactoryTalk View Studio, click Start > All Programs > Rockwell

Add an OPC Data Server for third-party controllers Chapter 6

click the Existing tab and select the application you created in Add a device
server for Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500 controllers on page 53 (we use
My Local Site).
Step 2. Add a data server
1. In the Explorer window, right-click the application, point to Add New

Server, and then click OPC Data Server.
2. In the OPC Data Server Properties dialog box, type a name for the server.
We use My OPC Server.
3. Beside the OPC Server name (ProgID) field, click the Browse button.
Chapter 6 Add an OPC Data Server for third-party controllers
4. In the Available OPC Data Servers dialog box, select RSLinx OPC
Server, and then click OK.
Tip: When creating a network station application or network distributed application, select RSLinx Remote OPC
Server.
5. Click OK to close the OPC Data Server Properties dialog box.
6. Next, add a Tag Alarm and Event Server and define alarm conditions. See
Add a tag-based alarm server for Logix5000, PLC-5, SLC 500, or
7. If your FactoryTalk network station application or network distributed

tag-based alarm server for redundancy. We recommend completing this step
after the FactoryTalk application is fully configured and all HMI features
have been tested using non-redundant servers. Adding data server
redundancy does not affect the configuration of the graphic displays in the
HMI application.
Important: FactoryTalk Alarms and Events server redundancy and data server redundancy are only supported in
network station applications and network distributed applications.
Chapter 7
Add a tag-based alarm server for Logix5000,

PLC-5, SLC 500, or third-party controllers
FactoryTalk Tag Alarm and Event Servers provide software-based alarms and
events. Use tag alarm and event servers to monitor alarm conditions in Logix5000
controllers, PLC-5, SLC 500, or third-party OPC-DA programmable controllers.
Tip: If your FactoryTalk system does not include PLC, SLC, or third-party controllers, you can skip this chapter.
A FactoryTalk Tag Alarm and Event Server provides a link between a hardware
device that contains data and the FactoryTalk Directory. This includes third-party
controllers. All that is required is a data server (such as KEPWare) to
communicate with the controller.
FactoryTalk Tag Alarm and Event Servers can be used to provide an alternative to
device-based alarms--alarms provided by devices such as Logix5000 controllers or
sensors using built-in alarm instructions.
Before you begin • If you are using third-party controllers, you do not need a device-based
alarm server. Instead, go to Add an OPC Data Server for third-party
What you need • Logix5000 controllers, PLC-5, or SLC 500 devices communicating through
Rockwell Automation device servers (RSLinx Enterprise)
• RSLinx Enterprise, RSLinx Classic (or RSLinx Classic for bridging from
Ethernet to DH+ or DH-485 networks)
Chapter 7 Add a tag-based alarm server for Logix5000, PLC-5, SLC 500, or third-party controllers
Follow these steps
In this section, you will create a Rockwell Automation device server (RSLinx
Create an application
Enterprise) and then configure it to subscribe to alarms that will be detected by a
Logix5000 controller. In this example, the Rockwell Automation device server
(RSLinx Enterprise) is used as a data server for tag values, not as an alarm server.
Add a tag-based alarm server for Logix5000, PLC-5, SLC 500, or third-party controllers Chapter 7
Create an application in FactoryTalk View Studio
Tip: If you created a local station application previously, you can skip the steps in this section. Open the application
you created and go on to the next section Add a data server.
This example shows how to create a local station application.
1. To start FactoryTalk View Studio, in Windows, click Start > All Programs
> Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk View > FactoryTalk View Studio.

Important: FactoryTalk Alarms and Events is not supported for use with FactoryTalk View Machine Edition.
3. In the New/Open Site Edition (Local Station) Application dialog box

click the New tab.
4. In the Application name field, type a name for the new application. In this
example, we name the application My Local Site.
5. Leave the Description field blank, or type a description for the application.
For example, you can use this field to record revisions to the application, or
contact information for technical support.
6. If it is not already selected, select the default language for the application.
This is the language in which you are creating the application.
7. Click Create.
8. In the Add Controller Instruction Faceplates dialog box, click Clear All
and then click OK.
Tip: If you have cleared the Display this dialog when creating a new application check box, the Add Controller
Instruction Faceplates dialog box does not open automatically. To open it manually, in the Explorer window
right-click the HMI server and then select Add Controller Instruction Faceplates.
Add a data server Step 1. Configure the device server (RSLinx Enterprise)
When you add a data server to an application or area, tags published by the
data server can be accessed by any client--in this case, the Tag Alarm and
Event Server.
Important: This guide uses FactoryTalk View Studio to add a data server. You can also use FactoryTalk Administration
Console. For more information, select Help > Contents from the FactoryTalk Administration Console
window.
In this example a device server (RSLinx Enterprise) is added to the

application to act as a data server.
1. In the Explorer window, right-click the application (My Local Site), point
to Add New Server, and then click Rockwell Automation Device Server
(RSLinx Enterprise).
2. In the RSLinx Enterprise Server Properties dialog box, click the General
tab, type a name for the server, and then click Apply. In this example, we
name the server FTAE Server.
The new server is added to the My Local Site application:
Step 2. Create a new shortcut to the controller
Tip: If you already created a shortcut to the controller in a previous chapter, you can skip this step.
1. In the Explorer window, double-click the new RSLinx Enterprise server

2. In the Communication Setup dialog box, click the Add button and then
type a name for the new shortcut. We use FTAE_Controller.
Some options in this dialog box might be different if you are using PLC-5 or
SLC 500 controllers.
The warning icon beside the OK button indicates that changing values in
this dialog box at run time can cause unexpected results. For details, click
Help.
3. On the Primary tab, expand the list of networks and devices until the
controller is visible, and then click the controller. To set the path to the
primary controller, click the Apply button.

Add a Tag Alarm and Event To create a server and define alarm conditions that monitor tags for PLC-5, SLC
500 controllers, or Logix5000 controllers, complete the following steps.
Server
These instructions apply to FactoryTalk View Studio. For help with FactoryTalk
Administration Console, click Start > All Programs > Rockwell Software >
FactoryTalk Tools > FactoryTalk Help.
Add a Tag Alarm and Event Server
1. In the Explorer window, right-click the application. Point to Add New

Server, and then click Tag Alarm and Event Server.
2. In the Tag Alarm and Event Server Properties dialog box, click the
General tab.
3. Type a name for the server, and then click OK. In this example, we use
TagAE.
4. On the Priorities and History tab, clear the Enable history check box.
The Priorities and History tab is used to configure alarm and event
logging. Set up historical alarm and event logging on page 127 describes how
to set up alarm logging for a Tag Alarm and Event Server.
5. To create the Tag Alarm and Event Server and close the dialog box, click
OK.
Define alarm conditions After you create a Tag Alarm and Event Server, you define the conditions that will
trigger alarms at run time.
This example shows how to create a digital alarm in a Tag Alarm and Event Server.
1. In the Explorer window, expand the TagAE server, and then double-click
Alarm and Event Setup.
2. In the Alarm and Event Setup dialog box, click the New button on
the toolbar, and then click Digital.
3. In the Digital Alarm Properties dialog box, type a name for the alarm. In
this example we use Valve1FTO.
4. To select an Input Tag for the alarm, click the Browse button (...), and
then expand the folder tree until you can select the online tag you plan to
monitor.
5. Select the tag you plan to monitor and then click OK. In this example we
used Valve1FTO_alm.
6. In the Digital Alarm Properties dialog box, type a message. In this

example, in the Message field we type The valve failed to open.
You can also embed variables within the message. For details, click Help on
any tab in the Alarm Setup dialog box.
7. To close the Digital Alarm Properties dialog box, click OK.
8. To save the alarm and start monitoring for the alarm condition, click Save.
Next steps Do the following:
1. Define additional alarms and (optionally) define alarm groups.
2. After you define alarms and groups, you can add FactoryTalk Alarms and
Events objects to graphic displays. See Set up graphic displays on page 79.
3. If your FactoryTalk network station application or network distributed

tag-based alarm server and tag data servers for redundancy. We recommend
completing this step after the FactoryTalk application is fully configured
and all HMI features have been tested using non-redundant servers. Adding
data and alarm server redundancy does not affect the configuration of the
graphic displays in the HMI application. See Configure redundancy for
alarms and events on page 151 for more information.
Important: FactoryTalk Alarms and Events redundancy and data server redundancy are only supported in network
station applications and network distributed applications.
Chapter 8
Set up graphic displays
Create graphic displays in FactoryTalk View Studio. These are containers for
objects, such as the FactoryTalk Alarm and Event Summary object. Add
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events objects to graphic displays so that an operator can
monitor and interact with both device-based and tag-based alarms at run time.
Other graphic objects (for example, objects representing equipment) can be

animated (for example, to change color) using FactoryTalk View Site Edition
expression functions that monitor the state of alarms. See Use color animation to
indicate alarm state changes on page 93. Also see FactoryTalk View Site Edition
Help.
This section describes how to create graphic displays, and then create and
configure the FactoryTalk Alarm and Event graphic objects and macros that
determine how the graphic displays open in the FactoryTalk View Site Edition
Client. This section is one example of how you might create your graphic displays.
Before you begin • Define the alarms you plan to use, as described in Define device-based
alarms in Logix5000 controllers on page 29.
• Add the required device server, as described in Add a device server for
Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500 controllers on page 53 or Add a tag-based
alarm server for Logix5000, PLC-5, SLC 500, or third-party controllers on
page 67.
What you need • RSLinx Enterprise software

• FactoryTalk View Studio software
Chapter 8 Set up graphic displays
Follow these steps
Create a graphic display to host FactoryTalk Alarms and Events objects, such as
Create a graphic display
the Alarm and Event Summary.

Set up graphic displays Chapter 8

click the Existing tab, and select the application you created in Add a device
server for Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500 controllers on page 53 (we used
My Local Site).
Step 2. Create a graphic display to host FactoryTalk Alarms and Events

objects
1. In the Explorer window, expand the Graphics folder, right-click Displays,

and then click New.
A blank display appears in the workspace. Next, add FactoryTalk Alarms

and Events objects to the graphic display.
Create an Alarm and Event Use the Alarm and Event Summary object to view and interact with a summary of
Summary all the current alarms and events in an application. You can acknowledge,
suppress, disable, shelve, or unshelve alarms.
Tip: You cannot use the Alarm and Event Summary to enable or turn alarm suppression off. To enable or turn alarm
suppression off, use the Alarm Status Explorer. See Monitor alarms and events on page 110. To silence an
alarm, use the Alarm and Event Banner.
You can use FactoryTalk Security to control which users can acknowledge, enable,
disable, reset, suppress, shelve, or unshelve alarms at run time in an application (or
in an area). To do this, right-click the application (or area) and then click
Security. For details, see the FactoryTalk Security System Configuration Guide.
Step 1. Add an Alarm Summary to a graphic display
1. On the Objects menu, point to Alarm and Event, click Summary (or on
the toolbar, click the Alarm and Event Summary button ), and then
place the cursor approximately where the object is to be on the display.
2. Hold the left mouse button down and drag it to create a rectangle the size
that the Alarm and Event Summary object should be.
3. When the object is the desired size, release the left mouse button. The
Alarm and Event Summary object is drawn on the display.
Step 2. Change the settings of the Alarm and Event Summary display
1. On the menu bar, click Edit > Display Settings.
Tip: In any application, do not include more than two graphic displays that have Cache After Displaying and
Always Updating set because these options can consume large numbers of processor cycles.
2. In the Display Settings dialog box, on the Properties tab, make the
following changes and then click OK.
• Under Cache After Displaying, click Yes and then select the Always
Updating check box.
When you set Cache After Displaying to Yes, the display stays in
memory cache when you close it. This shortens the time required to
open the graphic display the next time.
When you select the Always Updating check box, the display
continues to be updated with changes in alarm states when it is cached.
This shortens the time necessary to update the Alarm and Event
Summary with current alarms when you open it again.
If Cache After Displaying is set to No, and the Always Updating
check box is cleared, every time you close the graphic display, all alarms
are removed from the Alarm and Event Summary. When you re-open
the graphic display, the Alarm and Event Summary is blank, and then
begins to receive the most recent alarms when they occur.
• Clear the Title Bar check box.

• Select the Size to Main Window at Runtime check box.
• Select the Allow Display to be Resized check box.
• Under When Resized, select the Scale check box is if it is not already
selected.
Step 3. Save the display
1. On the File menu, click Save.
2. In the Save dialog box, type a name for the new display and then click OK.
We use Alarm and Event Summary in this example.
3. Close the graphic object.
Create an Alarm and Event This section describes how to add an Alarm and Event Banner object to a graphic
display, and then create a startup macro that docks the Banner to the bottom of
Banner display the FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client window.
Step 1. Create a new graphic display
1. In the Explorer window, expand the Graphics folder.
2. Right-click Displays, and then click New.
Step 2. Add an Alarm and Event Banner object to the display
1. On the Objects menu, point to Alarm and Event, click Banner (or, on the
toolbar, click the Alarm and Event Banner button ) , and then place
the cursor approximately where the object is to be on the display.
that the Alarm and Event Banner should be.
3. When the object the desired size, release the left mouse button. The Alarm
and Event Banner object is drawn on the display.
4. Resize the graphic display so that the Banner fills the graphic display (do not
leave white space). Do so because the Banner displays no more than five
alarms at a time.
Step 3. Configure the properties of the Alarm and Event Banner
1. To open the Alarm and Event Banner Properties dialog box, double-click
the Alarm and Event Banner object. For details about all of the properties in
the dialog box, click Help.
2. On the General tab, click the Browse button (...) under Alarm and Event
Summary command.
This opens the Command Wizard where you will create a command to
start the Alarm and Event Summary graphic display from the Alarm and
Event Banner.
3. Scroll down the list of commands on the right side of the wizard, select
Display, and then click Next.
4. In the File list, click Alarm and Event Summary.
5. Select the Window Position check box. Scroll down the list on the right
and then click Centered of the screen.
6. Click Finish to save the Display command and add it to the Alarm and
Event Banner Properties dialog box.
7. Click OK to close the dialog box.
Step 4. Change the display settings for the Alarm and Event Banner display
1. On the Edit menu, click Display Settings.
2. In the Display Settings dialog box, on the Properties tab, make the
following changes, and then click OK:

• Select Size to Main Window at Runtime.
• Select Allow Display to be Resized.
• Under When Resized, select Scale if it is not already selected.
3. The Alarm and Event Banner graphic display is always visible because it is
docked. You do not need to turn on Cache After Displaying, as you did for
the Alarm and Event Summary object. See step 2: "Change the settings of
the Alarm and Event Summary display" in Create an Alarm and Event
Summary on page 82.
Step 5. Save the graphic display
2. In the Save dialog box, type a name for the graphic display and then click
OK.
In this example, we use Alarm and Event Banner.
3. Close the graphic display.
Create a startup macro for This section describes how to create a startup macro. You will use the macro when
you configure the FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client. See Monitor and interact
the Banner display with alarms at run time on page 103.
Step 1. Configure a startup macro
This startup macro docks the Banner display to the bottom of the FactoryTalk
View SE Client window.
1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, right-click Macros

and then click New to open the editor.
2. To open the Command Wizard, double-click anywhere in the body of the

macro editor.
3. In the Command Wizard, scroll down the list of commands on the right
side of the wizard, click Display, and then click Next.
4. In the File list, click Alarm and Event Banner.
5. Select the Window Position check box. Scroll down the list on the right
and then select Docked to the bottom.
6. To save the Display command and add it to the macro, click OK.
Step 2. Save the macro
2. In the Save dialog box, type a name for the new macro and then click OK.
In this example, we use Start Alarm and Event Banner.
Use color animation to In this section, you use alarm expressions in FactoryTalk View to animate a
indicate alarm state rectangle on a graphic display so that it changes color when the alarm state
changes at run time:
changes
• If there are active unacknowledged alarms, the rectangle flashes red.
• If all active alarms have been acknowledged, the rectangle is a steady red.
• If there are no active alarms but there are normal unacknowledged alarms,
the rectangle is yellow.
• If there are no active or unacknowledged alarms, the rectangle is green.
1. In the Explorer window, expand the Graphics folder.
Step 2. Add an Alarm and Event Summary to the graphic display
1. On the Objects menu, point to Alarm and Event, and then click
Summary (or on the toolbar, click the Alarm and Event Summary button
).
that the Alarm and Event Summary object should be.
3. When the object is the desired size, release the left mouse button. The
Alarm and Event Summary object is drawn on the display.
4. If necessary, resize either the Alarm and Event Summary object or the
graphic display to expose enough white space at the top, bottom, or on one
side to add a rectangle object that will be the alarm status indicator.
5. On the Objects menu, point to Drawing and then click Rectangle.
6. In the graphic display, hold down the left mouse button and then drag the
mouse to draw a box for the alarm status indicator.
Step 3. Add an expression to animate the rectangle
1. Right-click the rectangle, point to Animation and then click Color.
To create an expression for the color animation, you can compose the
expression step by step, as explained in the following steps, or you can type
the following expression in the Expression box:
If AE_InAlmUnackedCount( "*" ) > 0 Then 0 Else
If AE_InAlmAckedCount( "*" ) > 0 Then 1 Else
If AE_NormalUnackedCount( "*" ) > 0 Then 2 Else 3
Tip: In the preceding expression, "*" means include all alarms that are in the same location (area) as the HMI server. If
the preceding expression is used in a network station application or network distributed application with areas,
the expression would include all alarms from the alarm servers that are located in the same area as the HMI
server.
If you want to include alarms from other areas, use the absolute path syntax. For example, ("/AreaName::*").
If you type the expression instead of composing it, skip to the next major
step "Step 4. Set up colors for the alarm states" to apply colors to each state.
2. In the Animation dialog box, click Expression.
3. In the Expression Editor, click the If button and then click If to add the IF
condition.
4. In the Expression Editor, click Functions.
5. In the Functions dialog box, in the list of Function Categories, click

Alarm and Event.
The HMI Tag Alarming category contains functions that apply only to
HMI tags located in an HMI server. Because our alarm data is coming from
a controller or a FactoryTalk Tag Alarm and Event Server, we use the
Alarm and Event expressions.
6. In the list of functions on the right, click

AE_InAlmUnackedCount(AlarmName), and then click OK.
7. In the Expression Editor, the AE_InAlmUnackedCount( ) function

appears in the Expression box, with the cursor between the parentheses.
Next, type "*" to return a count of all alarms that are in the same location
(area) as the HMI server and are in the In Alarm and Unacknowledged
state. Next, move the cursor to the right of the closing parenthesis.
To count the number of instances of a specific alarm, you can type a tag
name instead of the asterisk.
To include alarms from other areas, use the absolute path syntax. For
example,
("/AreaName::*").
8. Click Relational and then click > GT for greater than.
9. In the Expression box, type 0, click If and then click Then to add a THEN
condition.
This completes the IF condition: "If the number of In Alarm,

Unacknowledged alarms is greater than 0 . . ."
10. In the Expression box, type 0, click If and then click Else to add an ELSE
condition.
This completes the THEN condition: "If the number of In Alarm,

Unacknowledged alarms is greater than 0, then animate the rectangle to
show the colors for state 0."
11. Follow the same process, substituting the necessary selections to add the
remaining two expressions, and then click OK.
If AE_InAlmAckedCount( "*" ) > 0 Then 1 Else (animates the

rectangle to show the colors for state 1)
If AE_NormalUnackedCount( "*" ) > 0 Then 2 Else 3 (animates the
rectangle to show the colors for state 2. If none of the conditions are
true, the expression animates the rectangle to show the colors for state
3.)
Step 4. Set up colors for the alarm states
This step describes how to set up colors for the rectangle for each solution to the
expression.
1. In the Animation dialog box, under Expression, click state A.
2. In the Value box, type 0.
3. Beside Fill, select the Blink check box. A colored box is displayed so that
you can specify an alternative color.
4. Beside Fill, make sure the colored boxes are set to red (for the fill color) and
black (for the blinkalternative color).
5. Set up the colors for the remaining states:
• State B: Value = 1, Line = Black, Fill = Red

• State C: Value = 2, Line = Black, Fill = Yellow
• State D: Value = 3, Line = Black, Fill = Green
6. When you are finished setting up the colors, click Apply and then click
Close.
OK.
In this example, we use Alarm Status Indicator.
Step 6: Test run the display
1. On the View menu, click Test Display, or click the Test Display button
(shown at left) on the toolbar.
If there are unacknowledged alarms whose alarm condition is In Alarm, the

rectangle flashes red.
2. Right-click one of the alarms, and then click Ack All. Because all active
alarms have been acknowledged, the rectangle changes to a steady red.
3. Continue experimenting to observe the effects of acknowledging alarms:
• If there are no active alarms, but there are normal unacknowledged

alarms, the rectangle is yellow.
• If there are no active or unacknowledged alarms, the rectangle is green.
4. When you are finished, on the View menu, click Edit Display, or click the
Edit Display button on the toolbar.
Next steps Do one of the following:
• Use the graphic displays you just created to monitor and interact with
alarms and events. See Monitor and interact with alarms at run time on page
103.
• Set up historical alarm and event logging. See Set up historical alarm and
event logging on page 127.
Chapter 9
Monitor and interact with alarms at run time
To interact with alarms and events at run time, set up a FactoryTalk View Site
Edition Client and configure one or more graphic displays that host Alarm and
Event objects. Next, run the client and then monitor the alarms and events that
are shown.
Before you begin • Be sure you have defined alarms as described in Define device-based alarms
in Logix5000 controllers on page 29.
• Add the appropriate device server as described in Add a device server for
Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500 controllers on page 53 or Add a tag-based
alarm server for Logix5000, PLC-5, SLC 500, or third-party controllers on
page 67.
• Set up and configure any graphic display objects as described in Set up
graphic displays on page 79.

• FactoryTalk View SE software
• FactoryTalk View SE Client software
Chapter 9 Monitor and interact with alarms at run time
Follow these steps
Create and then run a To run an application and monitor graphic displays for alarm messages, start the
FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client.
FactoryTalk View Client
configuration
Monitor and interact with alarms at run time Chapter 9
Important: For this example, be sure that the controller is running the West_Plant_Controller program that we
created in Chapter 3, and that you have tripped the alarm (right-click the rung contact and then click
Toggle Bit).
Step 1. Create a FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client configuration file
1. To open the FactoryTalk View SE Client Wizard, in Windows, click

Start > All Programs > Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk View >
FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client.
2. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Wizard, click New.
3. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Configuration Name dialog box, type

a name for the configuration file. In this example, we used Alarms and
Events Demo. Keep the default path for the configuration file and click
Next.
For details about using the FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client Wizard,
click Help in the wizard.
4. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Application Type dialog box, select

Local Station and then click Next.
5. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Application Name dialog box, select

the name of the application you plan to connect to, and then click Next. In
this example, use the My Local Site application created in Set up graphic
displays on page 79.
6. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Components dialog box, select the

FactoryTalk View components that run when the FactoryTalk View Site
Edition Client starts. In the Startup macro list, select Start Alarm and
Event Banner, and then click Next.
7. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Window Properties dialog box,

configure how the FactoryTalk View SE Client window will look at run
time. In this example, we entered Show Me Alarms in the Title bar text
field. At run time, this text is displayed at the top of the Client window. Do
not change any of the other settings in this dialog box. Click Next.
8. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Auto Logout dialog box, you can
configure the Client to log out automatically after a period of inactivity. In
this example, we accept the default setting. Click Next.
9. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Completion Options dialog box,

select Save configuration and open FactoryTalk View SE Client now,
and then click Finish.
The Client window opens with the Alarm and Event Banner docked at the
bottom.
Step 2. Open the Alarm and Event Summary from the Alarm and Event
Banner
In the Alarm and Event Banner, click the Alarm and Event
Summary button (shown at left). The Alarm and Event Summary
opens, and is similar to the following graphic display.
Step 3. Next steps
Do either of the following:
• Monitor and interact with alarms and events as shown in the next section.
• Set up historical logging for alarms and events using the graphic displays and
startup macros created in this chapter and in Set up graphic displays on page
79. See Set up historical alarm and event logging on page 127.
Monitor alarms and events The data fields in the Alarm and Event Banner window are organized in columns,
and represent various alarm and event data. At run time, only the columns that
were configured at design time to be visible are displayed in the Alarm and Event
Banner.
In this example, the alarm list shows these columns:
• Priority - Medium
• Alarm State - In Alarm and Unacknowledged
• Event time and date stamp
• Message
The status bar shows (from left to right):
The connection status of the Tag Alarm and Event Server -- whether
connected or disconnected from the Alarm and Event Banner. The green
icon shows that the Tag Alarm and Event Server is connected. When
disconnected, the icon flashes red.
The number of alarms that are In Alarm and Unacknowledged
The number of alarms that are In Alarm and Acknowledged
The number of alarms that are Normal and Unacknowledged
The number of alarm faults
For all of the possible priorities and alarms states that can be shown in the Alarm
and Event objects, see FactoryTalk Alarms and Events Help:
1. In Windows, click Start > All Programs > Rockwell Software >
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events > User Documentation > FactoryTalk
Alarms and Events Help.
2. In the section "Monitor alarms during run time," see these topics:
a. Alarm and Event Summary > About the columns in the Alarm and
Event Summary
b. Alarm Status Explorer > About the columns in the Alarm Status
Explorer
c. Alarm and Event Log Viewer > About the columns in the Alarm and
Event Log Viewer
Security for alarms and events

You can use FactoryTalk Security to control which users can acknowledge, enable,
disable, reset, suppress, or shelve alarms at run time in an application (or in an
area).
To do this, in FactoryTalk View Studio or FactoryTalk Administration Console,

right-click the application (or area) where the alarms are located and then click
Security. For details, see the FactoryTalk Security System Configuration Guide. In
Windows, click Start > Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk Tools > FactoryTalk
Security System Configuration Guide.
Acknowledge an alarm
When you acknowledge an alarm it does not correct the condition causing the
alarm, but it indicates that an operator is aware of the alarm.
Tip: The Digital Alarm Properties, Level Alarm Properties, and Deviation Alarm Properties dialog boxes each
contain a Control Tags tab that allows you to acknowledge alarms by using tags in the controller (remote
acknowledgment).
• At runtime, the alarm state in graphic objects changes to Acknowledged when the remote acknowledge tag
value is changed to positive.
• The alarm import and export functions support remote acknowledgment.
See FactoryTalk Alarms and Events Help for more information on using the Control Tags tab.
A single tag might have several alarm conditions In Alarm. Each alarm condition
must be acknowledged separately. For example, a tag that monitors a temperature
might trigger HI and HIHI alarm conditions by the time it is acknowledged. The
alarm could also go In Alarm and Out of Alarm several times before it is
acknowledged.
Previous occurrences of an alarm that have gone Out of Alarm and then back In
Alarm cannot be acknowledged. These older occurrences are referred to as out of
scope and are displayed in the alarm list with a different icon. When the most
recent occurrence of an alarm is acknowledged, previous occurrences are removed
from the alarm list.
Acknowledge the selected alarm
In the Alarm and Event Summary event list, do one of the following:
• Select the alarms you want to acknowledge, and then click the
Acknowledge selected alarm button .
• Select the alarms you want to acknowledge, right-click the selected alarms,
and then click Ack.
Acknowledge the selected alarm and enter a comment
1. In the Alarm and Event Summary event list, do one of the following:
• Select the alarms you want to acknowledge, and then click

Acknowledge selected alarm with comment .
• Select the alarms you want to acknowledge, right-click the selected
alarms, and then click Ack Comment.
2. In the Acknowledge Alarm with Comment dialog box, type a comment,

and then click Acknowledge. If historical logging is set up, the comment is
displayed in the Alarm and Event Log as part of the Tracking event that is
generated from the Acknowledge command.
Tip: You can view the last comment that was entered for an operation (for example, ack, disable, suppress) in the
Alarm Details dialog box. To view a comment associated with an alarm state, select an alarm and then click the
Show details for the selected alarm button on the toolbar. In the Alarm Details dialog box, expand an
alarm state (Disabled, Suppressed, Acknowledged, and so on) to view the comment associated with that state.
Acknowledge all of the alarms displayed on the page
In the Alarm and Event Summary toolbar, do one of the following:
• Click Ack page of alarms . All alarms currently visible in the event list
are acknowledged.
• Right-click one of the alarms and then click Ack Page.
Acknowledge all of the alarms in the event list
In the Alarm and Event Summary toolbar, do one of the following:
• Click Acknowledge all alarms contained in list . All alarms in the

event list are acknowledged, even if they are not all visible. However, if the
list is filtered, alarms that are filtered out are not acknowledged.
• Right-click one of the alarms, and then click Ack All.
Disable or enable an alarm

When an alarm is disabled the operator is not notified when the alarm condition
occurs and the alarm is removed from the Alarm and Event Banner.
• An alarm that is disabled is effectively turned off in the controller.

• The alarm condition is no longer monitored and notifications are not
generated by the controller.
• Disabled alarms do not sound the alarm bell in the Alarm and Event
Banner.
• Unacknowledged disabled alarms are displayed in the Alarm and Event
Summary.
Unlike a silenced alarm, a disabled alarm does not trigger the alarm bell in the
Alarm and Event Banner if the alarm condition occurs again after the alarm was
disabled.
Tip: Disable alarms that are related to equipment that is being shut down or serviced.
To enable alarms, use the Alarm Status Explorer. See Enable selected alarms on
page 117.
When an alarm is enabled, the operator is notified when the alarm condition
occurs. Enabled alarms sound the alarm bell, and continue appearing as new events
in the Alarm and Event Summary, unless they are suppressed.
Important: You can use FactoryTalk Security to control who can disable or suppress alarms. If a user attempts to
perform an operation for which they do not have the required security rights, the operation will fail and a
message will be displayed stating that the user has insufficient rights to perform the operation. To add
another level of security, the Alarm and Event Summary can be configured not to show the toolbar
buttons, which also hides those operations on the context (shortcut) menu.
Disable selected alarms
• Select the alarms you want to disable, and then on the toolbar, click the
Disable selected alarm button.
• Select the alarms you want to disable, right-click the selected alarms,
and then click Disable.
2. In the Disable Alarm dialog box, type a comment (for example, to explain
why the alarm is disabled) and then click Disable.
This comment is stored with the alarm and is logged to the Comment field
in the Alarm and Event Log, which you can view using the Alarm and Event
Log Viewer.
Tip: Any alarms you disable stay in that state until you enable them again. You must use the Alarm Status Explorer
to enable alarms.
To enable an alarm
1. In the Alarm and Event Summary window, do one of the following:
• If it is visible on the toolbar, click the Display the Alarm Status

Explorer button .
• If the toolbar button is not visible, right-click an alarm in the Alarm
and Event Summary event list, and then click Alarm Status.
2. In the Alarm Status Explorer window, select the alarms you want to enable
and then click the Enable selected alarm button .
Any alarms you enable stay in that state until you disable them again.
For details about the other features of the Alarm Status Explorer, click
Help in the dialog box.
Suppress or unsuppress an alarm

You can suppress an alarm that is not needed temporarily, for example, suppress an
alarm that is caused by another alarm that you are already addressing. You can
suppress or unsuppress up to 2000 alarms at one time.
• A suppressed alarm is not displayed in the Alarm and Event Banner.

If an alarm is displayed in the Alarm and Event Banner and then suppressed,
it is removed from the alarm list.
• An unacknowledged suppressed alarm is displayed in the Alarm and Event

Summary.
If an alarm is displayed in the Alarm and Event Summary and then
suppressed, it is only removed from the alarm list when it is acknowledged.
• A suppressed alarm continues to be logged in the alarm history log, which

you can view using the Alarm and Event Log Viewer. See Set up historical
alarm and event logging on page 127 for more information.
• A suppressed alarm also continues to set the appropriate InAlarm
parameters of an alarm instruction in the controller.
Disable an alarm instead of suppressing it if you want to completely turn off the
alarm detection logic for the alarm source and prevent the alarm from being
detected. See Disable selected alarms on page 116.
Suppress an alarm
• Select the alarms you want to suppress and then click the Suppress
selected alarm button .
• Select the alarms you want to suppress, right-click the selected alarms,
and then click Suppress.
2. In the Suppress Alarm window, optionally type a comment, and then click
Suppress.
A comment is stored with the alarm and is logged to the Comment field in
the Alarm and Event Log, which you can view using the Alarm and Event
Log Viewer.
Unsuppress an alarm
Unsuppress an alarm that was previously suppressed if it now needs to be

monitored again. For example, an operator might have suppressed an alarm
because the alarm was caused by another alarm that an operator was already
attending to.
An unacknowledged suppressed alarm is displayed in the Alarm and Event

Summary.
To unsuppress an alarm, follow these steps:
1. In the Alarm and Event Summary, right-click an alarm and then click
Alarm Status.
2. In the Alarm Status Explorer window, select the alarm or alarms you want
to unsuppress, and then on the toolbar click the Unsuppress selected
alarm button.
Tip: You can filter alarm sources to make it easier to find the alarm you want. In the Name box, type all or part of an
alarm name, or select an alarm status from the list. You can use the * and ? wildcard characters in the filter. For
details about filtering alarm sources, see FactoryTalk Help. In Windows, click Start > All Programs >
Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk Tools > FactoryTalk Help.
3. In the Unsuppress Alarm dialog box, optionally type a comment on why

the alarm is unsuppressed, and then click Unsuppress.
This comment is stored with the alarm and is logged to the Comment field
Log Viewer if historical logging has been configured.
For details about the other features of the Alarm Status Explorer, click the
Help button .
Shelve or unshelve an alarm

Shelving an alarm temporarily suppresses it. When shelving, the operator specifies
a duration for the alarm to remain shelved. The alarm is automatically unshelved
when the duration runs out.
Tip: Shelving is supported in the Logix Designer application version 21 or later.
A shelved alarm is displayed in the Alarm and Event Summary or Alarm Status
Explorer. However, a shelved alarm is not displayed in the Alarm and Event
Banner.
Disable an alarm, instead of shelving it, if you want to completely turn off the
alarm detection logic for the alarm source, and prevent the alarm from being
detected. See Disable selected alarms on page 116 for more information.
Shelve an alarm
• Select the alarm you want to shelve and click the Shelve selected alarm
button on the toolbar.

• Right-click the alarm you want to shelve and select Shelve.
2. The Shelve Alarm dialog box appears.
In the dialog box, enter the following information if desired:
Field Description
Alarm name Shows the name of the selected alarm.
If multiple alarms are selected, this shows as Multiple (x alarms selected) where x is
the total count of selected alarms.
Shelve duration Specifies the period of time the alarm should be shelved. Once the shelve duration
expires, the alarm is unshelved. The value must be a whole number.
• Default: 1
• Minimum: 1
• Maximum: 2147483647
Comment (optional) Specifies the reason for shelving the alarm.

The default value is empty. The maximum length is 512 characters.
This comment is stored with the alarm and is logged to the UserComment field in
the alarm database, which you can view using the Alarm and Event Log Viewer.
3. When complete, click Shelve.
When you reshelve alarms, the conditions vary depending on the type of alarms:
Alarm type Alarm condition

A digital alarm The alarm is shelved with the new specified duration. The alarm unshelve time is also
updated accordingly.
An analog alarm If one or more of the alarm conditions you reshelve were previously shelved, the alarm
condition is shelved with the new specified duration and the alarm unshelve time is
also updated accordingly.
If none of the alarm conditions you reshelve were previously shelved, the alarm
condition is shelved targeting to the old unshelve time.
Unshelve an alarm
If alarms that were previously shelved need to be monitored again, you can
unshelve the specified alarms in the Alarm Status Explorer.
1. In the Alarm and Event Summary window, right-click an alarm and then
click Alarm Status.
2. In the Alarm Status Explorer, select the alarm or alarms you want to
unshelve, and then click the Unshelve selected alarm button on the
toolbar.
3. In the Unshelve Alarm dialog box, optionally enter a comment about why
the alarm is unshelved, and then click Unshelve.
The comment is stored with the alarm and is logged to the Comment field
Log Viewer if historical logging has been configured.
You can also unshelve all shelved alarms in the Alarm and Event Summary:
2. On the toolbar, click the Unshelve all alarms button .
• Right-click an alarm in the list, and then click Unshelve All.
3. The Unshelve All Alarms dialog box appears. Optionally enter a comment
on why the alarms are unshelved and then click Unshelve All.
Chapter 10
Set up historical alarm and event logging
Use the FactoryTalk Alarm and Event Log Viewer to view alarms and events that
have been logged to a Microsoft SQL Server database that is configured to store
historical alarm and event data.
Tip: If you do not have a Microsoft SQL Server database installed, we recommend that you install it using the batch
file available on the FactoryTalk View installation DVD in the FTView\Redist folder. For installation instructions,
see Install Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express on page 211.
If you already have Microsoft SQL Server installed, you may need to change the configuration options to log
alarm and event messages. For configuration instructions, see Use an existing Microsoft SQL Server database on
page 217.
Use the Alarm and Event Log Viewer to display entries corresponding to all event
types or to filter the events you want to view. Alarms and events generated during
run time can be logged to a Microsoft SQL Server database.
Important: Simple Events are not currently supported. A simple event describes a simple occurrence in the system,
such as failure to access a computer or device. Condition-related events--those that relate to changes in
alarm state, and tracking-related events--those that monitor audited changes to the system, are
supported.
To set up historical alarm and event logging, here is an overview of the steps to
follow. Each step is explained in detail in this chapter.
• Confirm that the Microsoft SQL Server software is installed.

• Add a database definition to your FactoryTalk system.
• Associate a database definition with an alarm and event server.
• Add an Alarm and Event Log Viewer object to a graphic display.
• Run the FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client software and then monitor
the graphic display.
Before you begin • If you do not already have Microsoft SQL Server software installed, you can
install it from the FTView\Redist folder on the FactoryTalk View
installation DVD. For installation instructions, see Install Microsoft SQL
Server 2008 Express on page 211.
• Define alarms as described in Define device-based alarms in Logix5000
controllers on page 29 and Add a tag-based alarm server for Logix5000,
PLC-5, SLC 500, or third-party controllers on page 67.
Chapter 10 Set up historical alarm and event logging
• Add the appropriate device server as described in Add a device server for
Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500 controllers on page 53.
• Set up graphic display objects as described in Set up graphic displays on page
79.

• FactoryTalk View Studio software
• FactoryTalk View SE Client software
• Microsoft SQL Server software
Set up historical alarm and event logging Chapter 10
Follow these steps
Confirm that the SQL Server To log historical alarms and events, you can either install Microsoft SQL Server or
you can use an existing SQL Server database already installed on your network. If
software is installed you are using an existing SQL Server database you need to set up your database for
alarm and event logging. See Summary of steps on page 217.
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events can log historical data to any of the supported
SQL Server databases. For more information, see Supported SQL Server databases
on page 217.
Tip: SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express software is available on the the FactoryTalk View installation DVD in the
FTView\Redist folder.
To install SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express, see Install SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express on page 211.
If you are using an existing SQL Server database, see Use an existing SQL Server database on page 217.
Add a database definition Create a database definition that specifies the connection information for the
database and creates the required database objects.
to your FactoryTalk system
1. To run FactoryTalk View Studio, from Windows, click Start> All

Programs > Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk View > FactoryTalk View
Studio.


click the Existing tab, and then select the My Local Site application that
you created in Add a device server for Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500
Step 2. Create a new database connection
1. In the Explorer window, expand the folders System > Connections and
then right-click the Databases folder. Click New Database.
2. In the Alarm and Event Historian Database Properties dialog box,

configure properties for the new database definition.
In this example, we used FTAE_History for the definition name and

database name, FTAE_Historian for the database user name, and
password for the password. Select the version of SQL Server you are using.
For details, click Help on the dialog box.
Tip: To improve efficiency when writing to the database, information is sent to a cache file located on the computer
hosting the alarm server before writing to the database.
3. Click the Advanced tab. The system will attempt to create the database, the
user account, and the tables that are necessary to store the alarm and event
information. If the database or user does not already exist in SQL Server,
you are prompted to create them. Click Yes.
4. Configure the settings for the Alarm and Event Historian Database.
5. If the connection to the database is lost, alarm and event information will
continue to be cached to files. After the connection is restored, the cached
information will be sent to the database.
To limit how much information is cached, reduce the amount of days or %

of available disk space for database buffering. When the limit is reached, the
oldest information is overwritten.
6. When you finish, click OK. If you are prompted to create the database, click
Yes. The database definition is added to the Databases folder and is ready
for use.
Associate a database To set up an RSLinx Enterprise device server (device-based server) or a

FactoryTalk Tag Alarm and Event Server (tag-based server) to log historical alarm
definition with an alarm and event data to a database, you must associate a database definition with the
server alarm server.
If no alarm history database is associated with an alarm server, the alarm server
does not log any historical data. You can associate different alarm servers with
different alarm history databases, or you can have all alarm servers log their data to
the same database.
For details about setting up alarm servers, see Add a device server for Logix5000,
PLC-5, or SLC 500 controllers on page 53 or Add a tag-based alarm server for
Logix5000, PLC-5, SLC 500, or third-party controllers on page 67.


click the Existing tab, and then select the My Local Site application that
you created in Add a device server for Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500
Step 2. Configure the alarm server
1. In the Explorer window, expand the application tree until each alarm server
is visible.
2. Right-click the alarm server named FTAE Server that you created in Add a
device server for Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500 controllers on page 53.
Click Properties.
3. For an RSLinx Enterprise Device Server, do the following and then click
OK:
• In the RSLinx Enterprise Server Properties dialog box, click the

Alarms and Events tab.
• Under Alarm and Event History, select the Enable history check box.
• In the Database definition list, select a definition (for this example, we
use FTAE_History).
4. For a Tag Alarm and Event Server, do the following and then click OK:
• In the Tag Alarm and Event Server Properties dialog box, click the
Priorities and History tab.
• Under Alarm History, select the Enable history check box.
• In the Database Definition list, select a definition. In this example, we
use FTAE_History.
Create an Alarm and Event Use the Alarm and Event Log Viewer to view alarm and event information
Log Viewer display previously logged in a Microsoft SQL database configured to store historical data.


click the Existing tab, and select the My Local Site application that you
created in Add a device server for Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500

and then click New.
A blank display appears in the workspace.
2. If necessary, resize the graphic display to about the same size as the one you
created for the Alarm and Event Summary.
Step 3. Add an Alarm and Event Log Viewer object to the display
1. On the Objects menu, point to Alarm and Event and then click Log
Viewer (or click the Alarm and Event Log Viewer toolbar button ).
2. Hold the left mouse button down and drag the mouse to create a rectangle
that is the size required for the Alarm and Event Log Viewer object.
3. When the object is the correct size, release the left mouse button. The
Alarm and Event Log Viewer object is drawn on the graphic display.
Step 4. Configure the properties of the Alarm and Event Log Viewer
1. To open the Alarm and Event Log Viewer Properties dialog box,
double-click the Alarm and Event Log Viewer object.
2. On the General tab, select the alarm log whose entries you want to view. In
the previous example, we selected FTAE_History. This is the SQL database
we created in Associate a database definition with an alarm server on page

133.
3. Click the Columns tab, and then clear the Area check box.
4. On the other tabs, set properties to customize the Log Viewer display, as
desired. For details, click Help.
5. When you are finished, click OK to close the dialog box.
2. In the Save dialog box, type a name for the new display and then click OK.
In this example, we use Alarm and Event Log Viewer for the name of the
graphic display.
3. Close the graphic display.
Create a button to open the Alarm and Event Log Viewer display
In this section, we add a button to open the Alarm and Event Log Viewer display
in the same FactoryTalk View Client window as the Alarm and Event Banner
display.

and then click New.
2. If necessary, resize the graphic display to about the same size as the one you
created for the Alarm and Event Summary.
Step 2. Add a button to the graphic display
1. On the Objects menu, point to Push Button, and then click Button (or
click the Button button on the toolbar).
2. Hold the left mouse button down and drag the mouse to create a rectangle
the correct size for the button and then release the mouse button.
3. In the Button Properties dialog box, click the Action tab.
Step 3. Configure the button commands
1. Click the Browse button (...) to the right of the Press action field to open
the Command Wizard.
2. In the Command Categories pane on the left, expand Graphics > Graphic
Displays > Navigation.
3. In the list of commands on the right, click Display, and then click Next.
4. In the File list, select the name of the graphic display that is to open when
the button is clicked.
In this example, we want the button to start the Alarm and Event Log
Viewer, so we select Alarm and Event Log Viewer.
5. To close the Command Wizard, click Finish. In the Button Properties

dialog box, the command Display "Alarm and Event Viewer /CC" appears
in the Press action box.
6. Click the Up Appearance tab.
7. In the Caption box, type Run the Alarm and Event Log Viewer. Press the
Enter key after the word Alarm so that the text wraps to the next line. This
is the text that will appear on the button.
8. Click OK to save the button configuration. The button is drawn on the

graphic display.
Step 4. Configure the properties of the graphic display
1. On the main menu bar Edit menu, click Display Settings.
2. In the Display Settings dialog box, make the following changes on the
Properties tab:

• Select the Size to Main Window at Runtime check box.
• Select the Allow Display to be Resized check box.
• Under When Resized, select Scale option if it is not already
selected.
Click OK when finished.
2. In the Save dialog box, type a name for the new graphic display, and then
click OK.
In this example, we use Menu Bar for the name of the graphic display.
Create a startup macro for This section shows you how to modify the startup macro you created in Set up
graphic displays on page 79. This example also shows you how to add commands
the Menu Bar display to the startup macro that will open the button display you just created and dock it
to the top of the client window.
Step 1. Edit the startup macro
1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, double-click the

Start Alarm and Event Banner macro.
The macro editor opens, showing the Banner display command Display
"Alarm and Event Banner" /DB.
2. To open the Command Wizard, double-click anywhere in the body of the

macro editor.
3. In the list of commands on the right, select Display and then click Next.
4. In the File list, click Menu Bar.
5. Select the Window Position check box. In the list of window positions,
click Docked to the Top.
6. To save the configuration and display it in the macro editor, click Finish.
Step 2. Save the startup macro in the application
2. Close the macro editor.
View historical alarm data Use the Alarm and Event Log Viewer--embedded in a FactoryTalk View graphic
display--to view, sort, filter, and export historical alarm information stored in
in a FactoryTalk View SE Alarm and Event Logs.
Client
With the Alarm and Event Log Viewer, you can:
• Display alarm and event information that has been logged by the
FactoryTalk Alarm and Event Historian.
• Define filters to determine which logged alarms and events will be displayed.
• Sort the alarms and events that will be displayed.
Run the application

You can open the FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client in these ways:
• From the Windows Start menu. See Monitor and interact with alarms at
run time on page 103.
• From within FactoryTalk View Studio, which is covered in this section.
• By double-clicking a FactoryTalk View SE Client configuration file (*.cli).
Start the FactoryTalk View SE Client from within FactoryTalk View Studio
1. If FactoryTalk View Studio is not still open, click Start > All Programs >
Rockwell Software > FactoryTalk View Enterprise> FactoryTalk View
Studio.


click Cancel.
4. In FactoryTalk View Studio, on the toolbar, click the Launch SE Client

button.
5. In the Launch FactoryTalk View SE Client dialog box, select Alarms and
Events Demo.cli and then click OK.
The FactoryTalk View SE Client opens after a few moments. The button
appears at the top of the window and the Alarm and Event Banner appears
at the bottom.
6. Click the Run Alarm and Event Log Viewer button to make the Log
Viewer appear in the middle of the client window:
7. Click the Run Alarm and Event Summary button on the Banner display at
the bottom of the window. The Summary display replaces the Log Viewer.
For details about enabling, disabling, suppressing, unsuppressing, shelving,

unshelving, and acknowledging alarms, see Monitor and interact with alarms at
run time on page 103.
Chapter 11
Configure redundancy for alarms and events
This chapter describes how to configure FactoryTalk Alarms and Events

device-based and tag-based alarm server redundancy.
Server redundancy is typically used to maximize system availability in case of:
• Computer hardware failure.

• Software failure on one server computer.
• Power failure on one server computer.
Redundancy requirements are unique to each application. The ideal redundant

solution involves having at least two instances of everything--hardware, software,
and networks. In practice, this is seldom necessary. Redundant FactoryTalk server
components duplicate server information on a secondary computer that is used if a
primary server computer fails.
FactoryTalk server FactoryTalk server redundancy can be configured for:
redundancy • FactoryTalk Alarms and Events servers

• Data servers (RSLinx Enterprise or OPC Data Server)
• FactoryTalk Site Edition HMI servers
Important: FactoryTalk Alarms and Events server redundancy and data server redundancy are only supported in
network station applications and network distributed applications.
FactoryTalk HMI server redundancy is only supported in network distributed applications.
For more information on planning and implementing a FactoryTalk distributed

network application, see Reference for building a distributed system on page 239.
Develop and test your It is good practice when developing a FactoryTalk Alarms and Events application
to develop and test with all alarm servers configured without redundancy. This
application without approach effectively reduces the size and complexity of the application during the
redundancy development and test phases.
Adding alarm server redundancy at the end of development to a properly planned

network station application or network distributed application will not require
any changes in graphic displays that are already developed and working properly.
Chapter 11 Configure redundancy for alarms and events
Existing alarm servers and tag data servers can be configured to support
redundancy if the distributed system supporting your FactoryTalk application has
been adequately planned and prepared beforehand.
To implement redundant servers, the procedure depends on whether you are

Before you begin
using a device-based alarm server or a tag-based alarm server.
• Plan and implement your FactoryTalk distributed system, taking into

consideration which components require redundancy, the network layout
of the components in the system, the CPU processing load that is expected
for each component, and the software required to be installed on each
component.
• Configure alarm servers and tag data servers as required. Initially, configure
these servers without redundancy. Verify that all of the configured tags and
alarms are working properly.
• Be sure all graphic displays are working properly on the FactoryTalk
application with alarm servers configured without redundancy.
• For each redundant alarm server, determine if it will use favor primary or
favor current switchover behavior.
Favor current. When a redundant switchover occurs, the secondary server
remains active in the application even after the primary server is recovered
and available once again. This is the default behavior, set in the Server
Properties dialog box Redundancy tab under Switchover options by
selecting Continue using the secondary server even when the primary
server becomes available again. When it is selected you can perform
manual switchovers from primary to secondary and back again. This can be
useful for testing redundant applications. You can change this selection at
any time.
Favor primary. After a redundant switchover has occurred, and the primary
server is recovered and available again, control passes back to the primary
server. This is set in the Server Properties dialog box Redundancy tab
under Switchover options by selecting Switch over to primary server
when it becomes available again.
You can change the redundant server configuration from favor current to
favor primary any time that both servers are running and connected to the
network station application or network distributed application.
What you need
Configure redundancy for alarms and events Chapter 11
If you are using device-based alarm servers
• RSLinx Enterprise and FactoryTalk Alarms and Events installed and

running on the primary server computer, configured and working as a
non-redundant component.
• RSLinx Enterprise and FactoryTalk Alarms and Events installed and
running on the secondary server computer.
• FactoryTalk View Studio or FactoryTalk Administration Console running
on a development station or other component connected in the
FactoryTalk application.
If you are using tag-based alarm servers
• RSLinx Enterprise or OPC Data Server installed, configured, and running

on a separate component configured in the FactoryTalk application, or
configured for redundancy and running on the primary and secondary
server computers as a redundant pair.
• FactoryTalk Alarms and Events installed and running on the primary server
computer, configured and working as a non-redundant component.
• FactoryTalk Alarms and Events installed and running on the secondary
server computer.
• FactoryTalk View Studio or FactoryTalk Administration Console running
on a development station or other component configured in the
FactoryTalk application.
Follow these steps
Upgrade an existing In this section, you will upgrade a configured Rockwell Automation device-based
alarm server (RSLinx Enterprise) to support redundancy using a secondary
device-based alarm server computer already configured in the FactoryTalk network distributed application.
Step 1. Open the application in FactoryTalk View Studio
This example shows how to open an existing network distributed application in

FactoryTalk View Studio.
1. To run FactoryTalk View Studio, in Windows, click Start > All Programs

(Network Distributed) and then click Continue.
3. In the New/Open Site Edition (Network Distributed) Application

dialog box with the Existing tab selected, under the heading Application
Name, select the name of the existing application. In this example, we name
the application My Network App.
4. Click Open.
Step 2. Select the device alarm server
In the Explorer window, open the application My Network App
and find the device alarm server FTAE Server.
Step 3. Configure the alarm server properties
1. In the Explorer window, right-click the alarm server FTAE Server and
then select Properties.
2. In the RSLinx Enterprise Server Properties dialog box, click the

Redundancy tab. Select the Provide redundancy using a secondary server
check box.
3. In the Redundancy tab, click Browse.
Tip: If your distributed network application has been planned and implemented beforehand as recommended, then
the secondary server computer name will be listed in the Select Computer dialog box.
4. Select the name of the secondary server computer in the Select Computer
dialog box and then click OK.
5. In the Redundancy tab, the switchover option Continue using the

secondary server even when the primary server becomes available again
is selected by default. This allows you to use manual switchover to test the
redundant pair. You can change the selection when testing is complete. If
you select Switch over to primary server when it becomes available again
manual switchover is not available.
Step 4. Open the Communication Setup editor
1. In the Explorer window, click the RSLinx Enterprise server FTAE Server,
2. Before the Communication Setup dialog box appears, an RSLinx

Enterprise information dialog box appears. To save the changes, click OK.
Tip: The secondary controller is normally the same device as the primary controller but a different path may be used
on the Primary tab. For instance, the secondary path may pass through an alternate bridge device in order to
provide redundancy at the communications level.
3. To set the path to the secondary controller, click the Apply button.

Upgrade an existing In this section, you will upgrade a configured Rockwell Automation tag-based
alarm server to support redundancy using a secondary computer configured in the
tag-based alarm server FactoryTalk network distributed application.
This example shows how to open an existing network distributed application in

FactoryTalk View Studio.

(Network Distributed) and then click Continue.

dialog box with the Existing tab selected, under the heading Application
Name, select the name of the existing application. In this example, we name
the application My Network App.
4. Click Open.
Step 2. Select the tag alarm server
In the Explorer window, open the application My Network App and find
the tag-based alarm server, for example, TagAE.
Step 3. Configure the alarm server properties
1. In the Explorer window, right-click the alarm server TagAE and then select
Properties.
General tab. Select the Load when operating system initializes startup
type option.
Important: The configuration options on the Redundancy tab will be disabled if the Load when operation system
initialized option is not selected on the General tab. This is because redundant servers need to be
running and available in order to exchange redundant information in preparation for an unexpected
switchover, even when the HMI application is not actually running.
Redundancy tab.
4. Select the Provide redundancy using a secondary server check box.
5. Select the secondary server computer from the computer list and then click
OK.
Tip: If your distributed network application has been planned and implemented beforehand as recommended, then
the secondary server computer name will be listed in the Select Computer dialog box.
6. In the Tag Alarm and Event Server Properties dialog box, the switchover
option Continue using the secondary server even when the primary
server becomes available again is selected by default. This allows you to use
manual switchover to test the redundant pair. You can change the selection
when testing is complete. If you select Switch over to primary server when
it becomes available again manual switchover is not available.
Check the status of an Follow this example anytime you change the configuration properties and settings
of an alarm server.
alarm server
After changing the alarm server configuration you need to reboot the server
computer. For a network distributed application or network station application,
the recommended start up sequence is:
1. FactoryTalk Directory server
2. Primary server computers
3. Secondary server computers
4. Operator workstations
This example demonstrates how to check the status of a redundant alarm server in
FactoryTalk View Studio using the device alarm server FTAE Server created in
Add a device server for Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500 controllers on page 53.

(Network Distributed), and then click Continue.

dialog box, on the Existing tab, select the name of the existing application.
In this example, we named the application My Network App.
4. Click Open.
Step 2. Select the device alarm server
In the Explorer window, open the application My Network App and find
the device alarm server, for example, FTAE Server.
Step 3. Check server status
1. In the Explorer window, right-click the alarm server FTAE Server, and
then click Server Status.
Tip: To test your redundant server configuration, trigger a manual switchover by clicking the Switchover button. The
Switchover button is enabled if the server is configured for redundancy, the Switchover options selection is
Continue using the secondary server, even when the primary becomes available again (default), and
both the primary and secondary servers are currently available.
2. To close the Server Status dialog box without making any changes, click
Cancel.
Appendix A
Get started with language switching
You can use language switching to display text strings that you define when you
create an application, in up to 40 different languages. At run time, a FactoryTalk
View SE Client can switch between any of the languages the application supports.
In a network distributed application or network station application, multiple
clients can run in different languages at the same time.
For more information on supported languages, see Language identifiers for

language switching on page 241. For additional information about configuring
language switching configuration in FactoryTalk Studio, see "Setting up Language
Switching" in the FactoryTalk View Studio Site Edition Help.
Important: Time and date formats do not switch. Alarm and Event objects in FactoryTalk View always display the
date and time format of the operating system. The rest of a FactoryTalk View application shows the
format for the language FactoryTalk View is displaying.
Dialog boxes that are part of the graphical user interface of FactoryTalk Alarms and Events but not user
configurable—for example, the Acknowledge with Comment dialog box—do not switch languages.
They are displayed in the language of the operating system.
Historical alarm and event messages do not switch languages. They are displayed in the language in
which they were logged.
Before you begin To implement language switching, the procedure depends on whether you are
using device-based alarm monitoring or tag-based alarm monitoring. If you are not
sure what type of alarm monitoring to use, see Plan your system on page 23.
If you are using device-based alarm monitoring
• Review Define device-based alarms in Logix5000 controllers on page 29.

• Verify that you have installed and activated the software listed in What you
need on page 30.
• Verify that the Logix5000 firmware has been updated to revision 16 or later
(excluding 21 to 23).
If you are using tag-based alarm monitoring
• Review Add a tag-based alarm server for Logix5000, PLC-5, SLC 500, or
Appendix A Get started with language switching
• If your alarms and events system uses a data server, review Add an OPC
Data Server for third-party controllers on page 63.
What you need If you are using device-based alarms
• The Logix Designer application (or RSLogix 5000 software version 16 or

later)
• ControlFLASH
• RSLinx Classic
• RSLinx Enterprise
• FactoryTalk View Studio
• FactoryTalk View SE Client
If you are using tag-based alarms
• PLC-5, SLC 500, third-party, or Logix5000 controllers that have not been
programmed with alarm instructions included in the Logix Designer
application (or RSLogix 5000 software version 16 or later)
• RSLinx Enterprise, RSLinx Classic (for bridging from Ethernet to DH+ or
DH-485 networks), or a third-party OPC Data Server (for example,
KEPWare server) for communicating with third-party controllers
• Microsoft Excel® (for editing exported alarm messages in multiple languages)
Get started with language switching Appendix A
Follow these steps
To create device-based alarm messages in multiple languages you can use the
Create device-based alarm
import and export features in the Logix Designer application (or RSLogix 5000
messages software). At run time, alarm messages located in Logix5000 controllers can be
displayed in the language of the FactoryTalk View application in which they are
displayed.
When RSLinx Enterprise connects to the controller, all alarm messages and their
languages are uploaded from the controller. When a FactoryTalk View SE Client
runs, the FactoryTalk Alarms and Events objects (Alarm and Event Summary, for
example) connect to the FactoryTalk Alarms and Events system and request alarm
messages in the current language. When you switch languages on the client
computer, the alarm monitoring system and all of the client screens switch to the
appropriate language on that specific client.
Important: Historical alarm messages are logged in the language currently associated with the Alarm and Event Log.
The Alarm and Event Log displays messages in the language in which they were logged. For example, a
message logged in English will be displayed in English, even if the language is switched to Italian.
Translate alarm messages using import and export

A system may have thousands of alarm messages that need to be translated. To
simplify this process, you can export alarm messages to a file, add translated
messages in multiple languages to the file, and then import the file back into your
project. Any of the languages you translate the strings into must be supported by
FactoryTalk View.
You can enter text strings in multiple languages in two ways.
1. In RSLogix 5000 software version 16 or earlier, create alarm messages in one

language, and use the RSLogix 5000 Export tool to export the project's tags,
logic comments, descriptions and alarm messages from RSLogix 5000 to a
comma-separated value (*.csv) file or a text (*.txt) file. The text strings can
be translated into other languages and added to the file. Then use the
RSLogix 5000 Import tool to import the strings back into the project.
2. In RSLogix 5000 software version 17 or later, you select a language for the
project, and then in the Project Documentation Language Configuration
dialog box you export a localization file that contains documentation from
the project. The documentation included in the text (*.txt) file includes
user-defined logic comments, component names, and alarm messages. The
text strings can be translated into other languages and added to the file. Use
the Project Documentation Language Configuration dialog box to
import strings back into the project. See Translating alarm messages using
RSLogix 5000 version 17 or later on page 167.
Translate alarm messages in RSLogix 5000 version 16 or earlier
To translate alarm messages using RSLogix 5000 software version 16 or earlier,

complete the following steps. To translate alarm messages in RSLogix 5000
software version 17 or later, using the project documentation language feature, see
Translating alarm messages using RSLogix 5000 version 17 or later on page 167.
Step 1. Export alarm messages from RSLogix 5000
1. Start RSLogix 5000 (version 16 or earlier) and open the

West_Plant_Controller project you created in Define device-based alarms
in Logix5000 controllers on page 29. If you have not yet created the project,
do so before continuing.
2. In the RSLogix 5000 window, on the Tools menu, click Export.
3. In the Export dialog box, click Export.
If your RSLogix 5000 project includes a large number of programs, and you
want to translate alarm messages from only one of them, you can make
selections in the Export dialog box to limit the data that is exported. For
details, click Help.
Tip: When translating to or from Unicode character sets (for example, Asian languages), you must export and then
import the RSLogix 5000 tag database as a .txt file. The .csv format does not support Unicode character sets. This
limitation does not apply to Tag Alarm and Event Servers.
Step 2. Translate the exported alarm messages
1. In Windows Explorer, locate the file you exported and then double-click it
to open it in Notepad. You can also edit the file using Microsoft Excel.
The last line of text in the file is the alarm definition. The first element from
the left is the instruction type (ALMMSG:) and the language string for the
alarm message (en-us for English in the United States).
The alarm message text appears as the fourth element from the left (Tank
Temperature is High).
2. Copy the ALMMSG line and paste it at the end of the file.
3. Change en-us to it-it (for Italian in Italy), and then change the alarm
message text to read La temperatura del serbatoio e alta.
4. Paste another copy of the ALMMSG line at the end of the file.
5. Change en-us to de-de (for German in Germany), and change the alarm
message text to read Hohe Tanktemperatur!.
Tip: When you import alarm messages, the system verifies the message length and displays a warning if the alarm
message exceeds the character limit.
Step 3. Import the translated alarm messages
1. In the RSLogix 5000 software, on the Tools menu, click Import.
2. In the Import window, select the file you modified and then click Import.
The import process produces warnings because it overwrites existing tags.
Step 4. Download the project to the controller
To update the controller with additional alarm messages in the new languages,
download the project to the controller.
Next, either continue setting up tag-based alarm messages, or set up a graphic

display for language switching. See Add buttons to a graphic display to switch
languages at run time on page 177.
Translate alarm messages using RSLogix 5000 version 17 or later
The steps in this procedure apply to RSLogix 5000 software version 17 and later,
and the Studio 5000 Logix Designer application version 21 and later, both
referred to in this procedure as the application.
To translate alarm strings use the project documentation import and export
feature. Only the information that is necessary for localization is included in the
exported file.
Step 1. Export alarm messages
1. Run the application and open the West_Plant_Controller project you

created in Define device-based alarms in Logix5000 controllers on page 29.
If you have not created the project, do so before continuing.
2. To open the Project Documentation Language dialog box, click the

Documentation Language Configuration icon or click
Documentation Languages on the Tools menu.
3. To associate the existing product documentation with a language, select a

language from the Select a language list or click Custom and then add a
custom language. For example, select English (United States) from the list
and then click OK.
4. After you select a language for the project, the Project Documentation
Language Configuration dialog box opens. If the dialog box does not open
after a short time, click Documentation Languages on the Tools menu.
To export a localization file, click Export.
5. In the Export Project Documentation dialog box, select the languages to

include in the localization file and then click Next. For example, select
German (Germany) and Italian (Italy) if the project documentation will be

translated into German and Italian.
6. To add the configuration information to the localization file, click Next.
7. Specify the name and location of the exported localization file and then
click Export.
8. Click OK.
Step 2. Translate the exported alarm messages
1. In Windows Explorer, locate the file you exported. Right-click the file,
point to Open With and then click Microsoft Excel.
The first column contains the instruction type ALMMSG. Column C is

labeled KEY:en-US [English (United States)] and the alarm message is
displayed in English.
Column D is labeled de-DE [Deutsch (Deutschland)], and Column E is
labeled it-IT [italiano (Italia)]. These are the languages you selected for the
export.
2. Type Hohe Tanktemperatur! in column D in the same row that shows

Tank Temperature is High.
3. Type La temperatura del serbatoio e alta in column E in the same row

that shows Tank Temperature is High.
Step 3. Import the translated alarm messages
1. In the application, on the Tools menu, click Documentation Languages.
2. In the Project Documentation Language Configuration dialog box, click

Import.
3. In the Select File dialog box, select the file you modified and then click
Import.
4. Verify the languages you want to import in the Import Project

Documentation dialog box, and then click Import.
5. Click OK.
Tip: When you import alarm messages, the application verifies the message length and displays a warning if the
alarm message exceeds the 255 character limit.
Step 4. Download the project to the controller
To update the controller with additional alarm messages in the new languages,
download the project to the controller.
Next, either continue with setting up tag-based alarm messages, or set up a graphic
display for language switching. See Add buttons to a graphic display to switch
languages at run time on page 177.
Create tag-based alarm The alarm messages in a tag-based alarm server also support language switching. As
with device-based alarms, in FactoryTalk View you can also enter text strings in
messages multiple languages in two ways:
1. The messages in the Alarm and Event Setup editor are saved in the
language you select when opening an application in FactoryTalk View.
2. After creating alarm messages in one language, you can export them from
FactoryTalk View to a Microsoft Excel (*.xls ) or XML file (*.xml ), add
translated versions of the strings to the exported file, and then import them
into FactoryTalk View again.
The maximum length for alarm messages is 255 characters. When you
import alarm messages, anything over 255 characters is truncated.
Enter text strings in FactoryTalk View Studio

Step 1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, choose a language in which to open an
application
1. To start FactoryTalk View Studio, in Windows click Start > All Programs


click the Existing tab, select the application you created in Add a device
server for Logix5000, PLC-5, or SLC 500 controllers on page 53 (we used
My Local Site).
4. In the Language list, select the language in which you are creating your
application (in this example, English (United States), en-US), and then
click Open.
Step 2. Create a digital alarm
This section uses the FactoryTalk Tag Alarm and Event Server you created in Add
a tag-based alarm server for Logix5000, PLC-5, SLC 500, or third-party
controllers on page 67. If you have not yet created the server, do so before
continuing.
1. In the Explorer window, expand the new Tag Server, and then
double-click Alarm and Event Setup.
2. In the Alarm and Event Setup dialog box, on the toolbar, click the down
arrow on the New button and select Digital.
3. In the Digital Alarm Properties dialog box, in the Name box, type
TankTempThreshold.
4. In the Input Tag field, type system\Second. This tag uses the second count
from the computer's internal clock to trigger the alarm. You can also click
the Browse button (...) beside the Input Tag field to select the
system\Second tag and then click OK.
5. In the Digital Alarm Properties dialog box, in the Condition list, select
Input = 0. This triggers the alarm every time the value of the system\Second
tag is 0, which happens every minute.
6. In the Message field, type Tank Temperature is High, and then click OK.
7. Close the Alarm and Event Setup editor and save your changes.
Add languages to the 1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, on the Tools menu, click Languages.
application
2. In the Language Configuration dialog box, select the Display undefined

strings using the default language check box, and then click Add.
When the Display undefined strings using the default language check
box is selected, any strings that are not defined in the current language are
displayed in the default language at run time.
When this check box is not selected, any strings that are not defined in the
current language are displayed as question marks (???) at run time.
3. In the Add Language dialog box, click German (Germany) and then click
OK.
4. In the Language Configuration dialog box, click Add to add the next
language.
5. In the Add Language dialog box, click Italian (Italy) and then click OK.
6. In the Language Configuration dialog box, click OK.
Add buttons to a graphic In this section, we add a button to a graphic display which can be used to switch
among available languages at run time.
display to switch languages
at run time Step 1. Create a new graphic display
1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, in the Explorer window, expand the Graphics

folder.
Step 2. Add buttons to the graphic display
1. On the Objects menu, click Button and then click Push Button.
2. In the graphic display, hold down the left mouse button and then drag the
mouse to draw a box for the button.
3. On the Edit menu, click Copy.
4. On the keyboard, press Ctrl-V twice, to paste two more copies of the
button in the graphic display.
5. Drag the copies of the button apart on the display.
6. On the keyboard, press Ctrl-A to select all of the buttons.
7. On the Arrange menu, click Align Top to align the tops of the buttons.
8. On the Arrange menu, click Space Horizontal to space the buttons equally
apart.
Step 3. Add captions to the buttons
1. Double-click the first button to edit it.
2. In the Button Properties dialog box, click the Action tab.
3. Click the Browse button to the right of the Release action field. The
Command Wizard opens.
4. In the Command Categories pane on the left, expand All Commands and
Macros.
5. In the list of commands on the right, click Language, and then click Next.
6. In the Language ID list, select the name of the language and then click
Finish.
In this example, we are using English (United States), en-US.
7. In the Button Properties dialog box, click the Up Appearance tab.
8. In the Caption field, type English and then click OK.
9. Repeat the steps above to add captions to the other two buttons:
• For the second button, the press action is Language it-IT (Italian for
Italy).
• For the second button, the caption is Italiano.
• For the third button, the press action is Language de-DE (German for
Germany).
• For the third button, the caption is Deutsch.
Step 4. Add an Alarm and Event Summary to the graphic display
1. On the Objects menu, point to Alarm and Event, and then click
Summary (or on the toolbar, click the Summary button ).
2. In the graphic display, hold the left mouse button down and drag the mouse
to create a box for the Alarm and Event Summary object.
3. When you have the object the required size, release the left mouse button.
The Alarm and Event Summary object is drawn on the display.
Step 5. Save and then close the graphic display
OK.
In this example, we used Alarm Summary Multilingual.
3. On the File menu, click Close to close the graphic display.
Enter alarm messages in In this section, we edit our application twice. The first time, we open the
application in Italian, and enter the Italian alarm message in the Alarm
other languages Properties dialog box.
Next, we export the alarms and events to an Excel spreadsheet, enter the German
alarm message in Excel, and then import the alarm messages again into our
application.
When you enter alarm messages in multiple languages in Excel, you can add the
text strings for all languages to one Excel file, and then import the translated text
for all languages into the application in one operation.
When you import alarm messages, the maximum length that is allowed is 255
characters. Alarm messages longer than 255 characters are truncated.
Step 1. Open the application in a new language
1. On the File menu, click Close Application.

click the Existing tab.
3. In the list of applications, click the name of your application (in this
example, My Local Site).
4. In the Language list, select Italian (Italy), it-IT and then click Open.
Step 2. Enter the alarm message for the digital alarm
1. In the Explorer window, expand the Tag Server, and then double-click
Alarm and Event Setup.
2. In the Alarm and Event Setup editor, click the Digital tab and then
double-click the TankTempThreshold alarm to edit it.
3. In the Digital Alarm Properties dialog box, in the Message field, type La
temperatura del serbatoio e alta and then click OK.
Step 3. Export alarm messages to an Excel spreadsheet
1. Right-click the Tag Alarm and Event Server where the alarms are defined,
and then click Import and Export.
In this example, right-click the Tag Alarm and Event Server called Tag
Server.
2. In the Alarm Import Export Wizard - Operation Type window, leave

Export alarm configuration to Excel file selected and then click Next.
3. In the Alarms to Export window, leave the TankTempThreshold alarm in

the list of alarms to export and then click Next.
If you have many alarms and you want to export only some of them, you can
filter the list of alarms to find the ones you want, and then you can include
only those alarms you need in the exported file. For details, click Help.
4. In the Messages to Export window, leave Export messages for all alarms
selected, leave all of the languages selected, and then click Next.
In this window you can choose whether to export all alarm messages, the
messages for only the alarms you selected in the previous step, or no alarm
messages, which then exports only the alarm data. If you are exporting alarm
messages, you can also select which languages you want to export.
5. In the Specify Output File window, leave the file name as it is. You can
specify a location where you want the file to be saved or use the default
location that is displayed, and then click Finish.
To browse for a location, click the Browse button .
6. After the export is complete, click OK.
Step 4. Enter alarm messages in Excel
1. Locate the exported alarm file and then double-click it to open it in

Microsoft Excel. The default location is in your My Documents folder. In
this example, the file is called My Local Site_Tag
Server_AlarmExport.xls.
Each alarm is located in a new row in the spreadsheet. The column names
correspond to the settings for each alarm. At the bottom of the Excel
window there are tabs that organize the alarms by type (Digital, Level,
Deviation).
Two additional tabs contain the alarm messages and the tag update rates.
These items are located on their own tabs because they can apply to
multiple alarms.
For example, if you had 50 alarms, you could use the same alarm message for
10 of them, but have different messages for the rest. Instead of editing the
same alarm message 10 times, you only need to edit it once. Each alarm
message has its own numeric identifier (in the Message column located in
column H in our example), which links a message to each alarm (level
alarms can have a different message for each level).
The maximum length for an alarm message is 255 characters. Messages that
are longer than 255 characters are truncated when they are imported.
2. At the bottom of the Excel window, click the Messages tab.
3. To add a new language for messages, add a new column and then type the
associated language identifier as the column heading. For example, click cell
D1 and then type de-DE. This is the language identifier for German.
For example, the column heading, en-US is the language identifier for
English (United States). For more information, see Language identifiers for
language switching on page 241.
4. To add messages, type the new message in a row under the column specified
for that language. For example, click cell D2 and then type Hohe
Tanktemperatur!
5. At the bottom of the Excel window, click the Tag Update Rates tab. The
columns are labeled with the update rates. For example cell A-1, is labeled
0.10 Seconds and cell E-1 is labeled 2 Seconds.
6. To update an input tag every 2 seconds, enter the name of the input tag in
the column labeled 2 Seconds.
7. To save your changes, on the File menu, click Save.
8. Close Microsoft Excel.
Step 5. Import the alarm messages
1. In FactoryTalk View Studio, right-click the Tag Alarm and Event Server
where the alarms are defined, and then click Import and Export.
In this example, right-click the Tag Alarm and Event Server called Tag
Server.
2. In the Alarm Import Export Wizard, in the Operation Type window,

select Import alarm configuration from Excel file and then click Next.
3. In the File to Import window, select the Excel spreadsheet to which you
added the German alarm message and then click Next.
To browse for the file, click the Browse button .
4. In the Alarms to Import window, select Import only alarm messages, and
then click Next.
In this window you can choose to overwrite any existing alarms, add only
the new alarms--leaving all existing alarms unchanged, or delete all existing
alarms and then import only those that are in the import file.
5. In the Messages to Import window, select Update existing messages and

create new messages from the import file, and then click Finish.
Do not select either of the other two options in this window. In our Excel
spreadsheet, we added a language to an existing alarm message; we did not
create a new alarm message. If you do not choose to update existing
messages, the translated text will not appear in your alarm messages.
6. After the import is complete, click OK.
Create a Display Client Because the Language command is ignored when you test run an application, you
need to run the application from the FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client.
configuration file to test
alarm messages
Step 1. Run FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client
1. In Windows, click Start > All Programs > Rockwell Software >
FactoryTalk View > FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client. The
FactoryTalk View SE Client Wizard opens.
Step 2. Create a FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client configuration file
1. In the FactoryTalk View Client Wizard, click New.
2. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Configuration Name window, type a

name for the configuration file. In this example, we used Multilingual
Alarms. Keep the default path for the configuration file and then click
Next.
For details about using the FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client Wizard,
click Help in the wizard.
3. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Application Type window, click

Local Station and then click Next.
4. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Application Name window, select the

name of the application you want to connect to, and then click Next.
In this example, we used the My Local Site application that we created in

Set up graphic displays on page 79.
5. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Components window, select the

FactoryTalk View components that run when the FactoryTalk View Site
Edition Client starts. In the Initial display list, click Alarm Summary
Multilingual, and then click Next.
6. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Window Properties window, you

configure how the FactoryTalk View SE Client window will look at run
time. In this example, we entered Show Me Alarms in the Title bar text
field. At run time, this text is displayed at the top of the Client window, and
does not switch languages. Do not change any of the other settings in this
window. Click Next.
7. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Auto Logout window, you can

configure the Client to log out automatically after a period of inactivity. In
this example, we accepted the default setting. Click Next.
8. In the FactoryTalk View SE Client Completion Options window, click

Save configuration and open FactoryTalk View SE Client now, and then
click Finish.
Test alarm messages at run For details about triggering an alarm in the Logix Designer application (or
time RSLogix 5000 software), see step 6: "Test the alarm instruction by switching to
run mode and triggering the alarm" in Configure the alarm and download to the
controller on page 31.
In a Tag Alarm and Event Server, the TankTempThreshold alarm we created

triggers automatically once every minute.
When an alarm conditions occurs, the alarm appears in the Alarm and Event
Summary in the default run-time language (in this case, English for the United
States).
When you click the Italiano button, the alarm message appears in Italian. Notice
that the other parts of the Alarm and Event Summary (for example, the Details
pane) currently appear in the language version of the FactoryTalk View software
you have installed on your computer. However, you can make these items switch
languages by editing the properties of the Alarm and Event Summary to modify
the column heading text. You can also export the graphic display's language strings
in FactoryTalk View, and then translate them before importing them again.
The behavior of the display is the same when you click the Deutsch button to
display the alarm message in German.
The labels on the buttons do not change when switching languages. This is the
expected behavior because there are no translated strings for the buttons, and the
Display undefined strings using the default language check box is selected. If
you do not select this check box, undefined strings are displayed as question marks
(?) at run time.
Summary and tips for To set up language switching for an application:
setting up language 1. Develop the application in a base language.

switching 2. Export the application's user-defined text strings.
When translating to or from Unicode character sets (for example, Asian

languages), you must export and then import the RSLogix 5000 tag
database as a .txt file. The .csv format does not support Unicode character
sets. This limitation does not apply to FactoryTalk Tag Alarm and Event
Servers.
3. Translate the strings. You can use Notepad or Microsoft Excel. Excel is
useful for large numbers of strings.
4. Import the translated strings back into the application.
Tip: For more detailed information about setting up language switching, see the FactoryTalk View Site Edition Help in
FactoryTalk View Studio. Also see the FactoryTalk View User's Guide in FactoryTalk View--click Help > Online
Books.
Text that supports language switching

In general, the user-defined strings that support language switching are those that
an operator sees in an application at run time. Specifically, these are:
• Text you specify for graphic objects and global objects including captions,
tool tip text, time and date embedded variables, and numeric embedded
variables.
• Graphic and global object display titles specified in the Display Settings
dialog box.
• Text objects created in graphic displays and global object displays.
Text that does not support language switching

Text that does not support language switching:
• Text that is part of the language version of the FactoryTalk View Studio
Site Edition or Client software, such as information from system tags, which
is displayed in the same language as the operating system. These are
translated when FactoryTalk View is localized.
• Text that can be displayed at run time but is used to operate the application,
such as the names of graphic displays, and command strings.
• Tag descriptions and string constants in expressions.
• Text in the title bar of a FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client window,
which is part of the setup of the client, not part of the application.
Alarm and Event Summary and Alarm and Event Banner

If the Alarm and Event Summary or the Alarm and Event Banner is notified of a
language switch, the contents are reloaded in the new language.
Any Alarm Fault List messages that you created in RSLogix 5000 (in the Alarm
Properties dialog box) do not currently switch languages.
You can use the Alarm and Event Banner Properties dialog box to configure
tooltips and panel captions in multiple languages. Define strings in one language at
a time. FactoryTalk View controls which language is displayed. You cannot switch
the text labels for the alarm states and priorities.
Tip: When configuring language switching for the Alarm and Event Banner, see the FactoryTalk View Site Edition Help
in FactoryTalk View Studio.
Alarm and Event Log Viewer

You can use the Alarm and Event Log Viewer to configure column headings,
button captions, and button tooltips in multiple languages. Define strings in one
language at a time. FactoryTalk View controls which language is displayed.
When the Alarm and Event Log Viewer is notified of a language switch, the
contents of the viewer, which consists of report data, are not translated. This data
continues to be displayed in the language that was used when the alarm or event
was logged.
If text for a language is not available, the text for the default language is used.
Tip: When configuring language switching for the Alarm and Event Log Viewer, see the FactoryTalk View Site
Edition Help in FactoryTalk View Studio.
Appendix B
System performance and limits
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events has been tested to conform to the following
performance limits.
Tip: All testing was performed with the recommended hardware. For details, see the FactoryTalk View Site Edition
Installation Guide.
Controller specifications The specifications vary depending on the controller firmware revision.
Controllers with revision 24

Specification Value
Number of subscribers (RSLinx Enterprise 3
servers) per controller
Typical number of alarm state transitions per 1000
subscriber
Recommended maximum number of alarms per 3000
controller
Approximate controller memory used for each Digital 1 KB
alarm Analog 2.5 KB
Using associated tags, string tags consume 750-1600 bytes per string tag
depending on the alarm type.
Supported languages for alarm messages All languages supported by FactoryTalk View.
Execution times for alarms
Rung State ALMD instruction ALMA instruction

False with no alarm state change 7 µs 5 µs
False with alarm state change 16 µs 5 µs
True with no alarm state change 7 µs 15 µs
True with alarm state change 16 µs 25 µs
Appendix B System performance and limits
Controllers with revision 20 or earlier

Specification Value
Number of subscribers (RSLinx Enterprise servers) 3
per controller
Controller memory used for buffering by each 100KB
subscriber (RSLinx Enterprise)
Typical number of alarm state transitions per 1000
subscriber
Recommended maximum number of alarms per 2000
controller
Approximate controller memory used for each alarm Digital 1 KB
Analog 2.2 KB
Using associated tags, string tags consume 750-1600 bytes per
string tag depending on the alarm type.
Supported languages for alarm messages All languages supported by FactoryTalk View.
Execution times for alarms
Rung State ALMD instruction ALMA instruction

False with no alarm state change 8 µs 17 µs
False with alarm state change 35 µs 17 µs
True with no alarm state change 8 µs 65 µs
True with alarm state change 35 µs 126 µs
Tip: Scan times increase more during a scan when many alarms change state at the same time.
An alarm state change is any event that changes the condition of the alarm. To minimize the potential for large alarm
bursts, create dependencies on related alarms. Large alarm bursts can have a significant impact on the scan time of
application code.
Tested system limits In this topology, FactoryTalk Alarms and Events has been tested with the
following system limits:
Tested limit Value in this release

Number of Rockwell Automation Device Servers 10 pairs
per application
Number of alarms per Rockwell Automation 10,000
Device Server (RSLinx Enterprise)
Number of Tag Alarm and Event Servers per 10 pairs
application
Number of alarms per Tag Alarm and Event Server 10,000
Number of alarms per FactoryTalk application 100,000
Alarm burst (number of alarms occurring at once) 3,000
Simultaneous alarm operations (for example, 2,000
enabling, disabling, acknowledging, or
suppressing alarms)
Number of alarms the alarm summary can display 2,000
at once
System performance and limits Appendix B
Tested limit Value in this release

Number of clients simultaneously connected to 50
the application
For historical alarm logging, you must be able to log on to a Microsoft SQL Server
database.
When a controller has been disconnected and then reconnected to alarm servers
on the network, alarms will start appearing in clients within 30 seconds. It may
take up to 2 minutes to fully recover, depending on the computer hardware and
the number of controllers and alarms in the system. In a redundant application,
the active server failover and manual switchover recovery time is the same as the
controller reconnect time.
Appendix B System performance and limits
Tested topology: redundant
Appendix C
Install FactoryTalk Alarms and Events manually
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events software is installed when you install FactoryTalk
View Site Edition and RSLinx Enterprise software. It is not installed as part of the
FactoryTalk Services Platform. If you installed the platform on a computer where
FactoryTalk View Site Edition and RSLinx Enterprise are not installed, you will
not have the FactoryTalk Alarms and Events software and must install it
manually.
The following illustration shows a sample FactoryTalk system with Alarms and
Events installed on various computers.
Summary of steps Step 1. Confirm that FactoryTalk Services Platform is installed on the computer
where you are going to install FactoryTalk Alarms and Events.
Appendix C Install FactoryTalk Alarms and Events manually
Step 2. Install FactoryTalk Alarms and Events.
Confirm that FactoryTalk FactoryTalk Services Platform must be installed before installing FactoryTalk
Alarms and Events.
Services Platform is
installed To check if you have FactoryTalk Services Platform:
1. On the Start menu, click Control Panel and then double-click Add or
Remove Programs (in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008, click
Programs and Features).
2. In the list, look for FactoryTalk Services Platform 2.10 (CPR 9) or later. If
it is not in the list, install it. For instructions, see either the FactoryTalk
View Site Edition Installation Guide or the RSLinx Enterprise installation
instructions.
Install FactoryTalk Alarms Log in as a user with administrative rights before you begin the installation. As
part of the installation process, FactoryTalk Alarms and Events creates program
and Events folders and modifies registry entries. To make these modifications, the user that is
currently logged in must have administrative rights on the computer on which
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events is installed.
1. Close any open programs.
2. At the root of the FactoryTalk View SE or RSLinx Enterprise DVD, open

the FTAE folder and then double-click Setup.exe.
3. If the .NET 3.5 Framework (SP1) is not already installed on your computer,
you are prompted to install it. Follow the instructions on the screen.
4. In the Welcome dialog box, click Next.
5. Click the option to accept the End User License Agreement and then click
Next.
6. Select the Complete Installation option and then click Next.
7. Click Install to begin the installation.
8. When the installation is finished, click Finish to close the window.
Appendix D
Install SQL Server 2008 Express
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events uses Microsoft SQL Server as the database engine
for logging alarm and event information. You can connect to an existing SQL
Server database. You can also install SQL Server 2008 R2 Express, which is
included in the FTView\Redist folder on the FactoryTalk View installation DVD.
If you do not have an existing SQL Server database, or do not plan to use it, follow
the instructions outlined in this chapter to make sure that SQL Server 2008 R2
Express is installed with the correct features enabled. See Summary of Steps on
page 212 for details.
You can install the database on the same computer used to host other FactoryTalk
servers, or on a separate computer. Depending on the size of your system, you
might choose to use a separate computer as a dedicated logging computer to
balance processing power.
For more information on using an existing SQL Server database, see Use an
existing SQL Server database on page 217.
Operating systems Microsoft SQL Server works with the following Microsoft Windows versions:
• Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter Edition (64-bit only)

• Windows Server 2012 Datacenter Edition (64-bit only)
• Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard Edition (64-bit only)
• Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition (64-bit only)
• Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition SP1 (64-bit only)
• Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition SP1 (64-bit only)
• Windows Server 2008
• Windows Server 2003, Service Pack 2 or later
• Windows 8.1 Professional and Enterprise Editions (32- and 64-bit)
• Windows 7 Professional and Enterprise Editions, SP1 (32- and 64-bit)
• Windows XP, Service Pack 2 or later
Appendix D Install SQL Server 2008 Express
Summary of steps The following is a summary of the steps required to install SQL Server 2008 R2
SP2 Express. Each step is described in more detail on the following pages.
Step 1. Open the FTView folder, which is at the root of the FactoryTalk
View installation DVD. The subfolders Redist and System contain the
software for SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express and its prerequisite software.
Step 2. Install the .NET Framework and other prerequisite software. The
SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express installation fails without these
components.
Step 3. Run the SQL Server Install batch file to install and configure SQL
Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express.
Step 4. Configure the Windows firewall if you want to allow for remote
connections.
Step 1. Open the FTView The FTView folder is located at the root of the FactoryTalk View installation
DVD and contains the following folders:
folder
Folder Description
Redist\DotNet35SP1* Installation for Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.5 (SP1). You might already
have the .NET Framework software on your computer, but verify the correct
version is installed or the SQL Server install fails.
Redist\MSXML6* Installation for Microsoft Core XML Services (MSXML) version 6.0.
Redist\WindowsPowerShell10* Installation for Windows PowerShell 1.0.
Redist\SQLServerEXPR_2008R2SP2 Installation for SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express
System\WindowsInstaller45* Installation for the Microsoft Windows Installer version 4.5.
(*) These software components are prerequisites that must be installed before you
install SQL Server 2008 R2 Express. There are other prerequisites but these are the
ones most commonly needed--they are included for your convenience. If the
installation program identifies other missing components, download them from
the Microsoft website.
Step 2. Install the .NET Install the software components described in the following sections.
Framework and other

prerequisite software .NET Framework
The Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.5 (SP1) is a prerequisite for SQL
Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express. You need to manually install it if it is not installed.
Install SQL Server 2008 Express Appendix D
Tip: If you have .NET Framework 1.2 or any version before 2.0.50727, you must uninstall it (versions 1.0
and 1.1 do not have to be uninstalled) before installing the correct version.
To determine which .NET Framework versions are on your computer, see

Microsoft Knowledge Base article 318785
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/kbarticle.aspx?id=318785.
To install the .NET Framework v3.5 (SP1)
1. At the root of the FactoryTalk View installation DVD, open the

FTView\Redist\DotNet35SP1 folder and then double-click
dotnetfx35.exe.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions.
MSXML6
To check if you have MSXML6
1. In Windows, click Start > Control Panel and then double-click Add or
Remove Programs (in Windows 7 and Server 2008, click Programs and
Features).
2. Check to see if MSXML6 is included in the list. If not, install it.
To install MSXML6

FTView\Redist\MSXML6 folder and then double-click msxml6.msi.
Windows Installer 4.5

To check if you have Windows Installer 4.5
2. Check to see if Windows Installer 4.5 is included in the list. If it is not,

install it.
To install Windows Installer 4.5
1. At the root of the FactoryTalk View SE DVD, open the Redist folder, open
the WindowsInstaller45 folder, and then double-click the Windows
installer for your operating system.
Windows PowerShell 1.0

If your operating system is Windows 7, you can skip this procedure.
To check if you have PowerShell 1.0
2. Select the Show updates option at the top of the screen.
3. Look for Windows PowerShell 1.0 or Windows Management Core

(contains Windows PowerShell 2.0).
4. If neither Windows PowerShell 1.0 or Windows Management Core is

listed, install Windows PowerShell 1.0.
To install PowerShell 1.0
1. At the root of the FactoryTalk View SE DVD, open the Redist folder, open
the WindowsPowerShell10 folder, and then double-click the Windows
PowerShell installer for your operating system.
Step 3. Run the SQL Server The batch file installs SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express on your computer with
the correct settings for logging alarms and events. The batch file configures the
Install batch file (not the following settings for SQL Server:
.exe)
• Allow remote connections to the database using the TCP/IP protocol.
• Enable SQL Server Browser.
To install SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express

FTView\Redist\SQLServerEXPR_2008R2SP2 folder and then
double-click SQL Server Install.bat.
Install SQL Server 2008 Express Appendix D
3. In the Setup Support Rules window, click OK.
4. In the Product Key window, click Next (SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express
does not need a product key).
5. Review the End User License Agreement, select the check box to accept it,
and then click Next.
6. In the Setup Support Files window, click Install.
If the system configuration check identifies any missing software

components, installation fails, and the missing components show in the
System Configuration window. For your convenience, the installation
packages for Windows Installer 4.5 and MSXML 6.0 are included in the
FTView\Redist folder at the root of the FactoryTalk View installation
DVD. If other missing components are listed, download them from the
Microsoft web site.
7. In the Setup Support Rules window, click Next.
8. In the Feature Selection window, click Next.
9. In the Instance Configuration window, click Next.
10. In the Disk Space Requirements window, click Next.
11. In the Server Configuration window, specify a service account for the SQL
Server Database Engine. Click Next.
12. In the Database Engine Configuration window, select Mixed mode and
then enter a password for the built-in SQL Server system administrator
account. If there is no user listed in the Specify SQL Server administrators
edit box, you must add a user. Click Next.
13. In the Error and Usage Report window, leave the check boxes unselected,
and then click Next.
14. In the Installation Rules window, click Next.
15. In the Ready to Install window, click Install.
16. When the components finish installing, click Next.
17. In the Complete window, click Close.
Step 4. Configure the If you want to allow remote connections to the SQL Server database, the database
engine service and the SQL Server Browser service must be added to the Windows
Windows firewall
Firewall Exception List. Perform these steps if you:
• Have remote clients (for example, a log viewer) that needs access to the
database.
• Want to configure the database remotely.
To configure the Windows firewall
1. In Windows, click Start > Control Panel > Windows Firewall.
2. On the Exceptions tab, SQL Server (sqlservr.exe) might be listed in the

Programs and Services box, but not selected as an exception. If you select the
check box, Windows will open port 1433 to allow TCP requests.
Alternatively, if you do not see SQL Server listed:
• Click the Add Program button.

• Click the Browse button.
• Open the folder at <drive letter>:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL
Server\MSSQL10.SQLEXPRESS\MSSQL\Binn.
• Select sqlservr.exe and then click Open.
• In the Add Program dialog box, click OK.
Sqlservr.exe is displayed in the list with a check mark beside it.
3. To add the SQL Server Browser service to the exception list:
• Click the Add Program button.

• Click the Browse button.
• Open the folder at <drive letter>:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL
Server\90\Shared.
• Select sqlbrowser.exe, and then click Open.
• In the Add Program dialog box, click OK.
Sqlbrowser.exe is displayed in the list with a check mark beside it.
4. Click OK to accept the changes and close the Windows Firewall dialog
box.
Appendix E
Use an Existing SQL Server database
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events can use an existing Microsoft SQL Server as the
database engine for logging alarm and event information.
You must set up the correct settings for logging alarm and event data if you are
using an existing SQL Server database. For more information on the settings, see
Summary of steps on page 217.
Supported SQL Server FactoryTalk Alarms and Events can use any of the following Microsoft SQL
Server versions:
databases
• SQL Server 2014 Standard (64-bit)
• SQL server 2012 Standard SP2 (32-bit or 64-bit)
• SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard SP3(32-bit or 64-bit)
• SQL Server 2008 Standard SP4 (32-bit)
Remote connections to the To allow remote connections to the database you must configure the TCP/IP
SQL Server database protocol, the SQL Server Browser, and the Windows Firewall. Perform these steps
if you:
• Have remote clients (for example, a log viewer) that needs access to the
database.
• Want to configure the database remotely.
Summary of steps Step 1. Install SQL Server Management Tools on page 218
Step 2. Specify Mixed Mode authentication for the SQL Server database on page
218
Step 3. Configure TCP/IP protocol for the database on page 219
Step 4. Enable the SQL Server Browser service on page 219
Step 5. Configure the Windows Firewall on page 220
Appendix E Use an Existing SQL Server database
Step 1. Install SQL Server Management Tools

To add the SQL Server Management Tools to an existing instance of SQL Server
2008 R2 Express, complete these steps:
2. In Windows, open Control Panel, and then open Programs and Features.
3. In the list that appears, select your SQL Server version and then click
Change or Change/Remove.
4. For SQL Server 2008 R2, follow these steps:
a. On the SQL Server 2008 R2 page, click Add.
b. Enter the location of the Setup.exe file on the SQL Server installation
media, and then click OK to open the Microsoft SQL Server
Installation Wizard.
c. Follow the instructions in the wizard until you get to the Feature
Selection page.
d. In the Feature Selection page, select the Management Tools - Basic

check box. If you do not want to install the complete management
tools, clear the Management Tools - Complete check box.
e. Click Next.
5. Follow the remaining instructions in the wizard to complete the

installation. If you are prompted to restart, click Yes.
Step 2. Specify Mixed Mode authentication for the SQL Server

database
To change the authentication mode and configure the sa login, complete these
steps:
1. Click Start > All Programs > Microsoft SQL Server 2008 > SQL Server
Management Studio.
2. In Object Explorer, right-click the server node, and then click Properties.
3. On the Security page, under Server authentication, select SQL Server and
Windows Authentication mode, and then click OK.
Use an Existing SQL Server database Appendix E
4. In Object Explorer, expand Security, expand Logins, right-click sa, and

then click Properties.
5. On the General page, you may have to create and confirm a password for
the sa login.
6. On the Status page, under Login, click Enabled, and then click OK.
7. If you changed the authentication mode, restart the server. In Object

Explorer, right-click the server node, and then click Restart.
Step 3. Configure TCP/IP protocol for the database

To configure TCP/IP protocol for the database, complete these steps.
If you are using SQL Server 2008:
1. Click Start > All Programs > Microsoft SQL Server 2008 >
Configuration Tools > SQL Server Configuration Manager.
2. In Object Explorer, click SQL Server Network Configuration, and then

click Protocols for SQLServer/myinstancename.
3. In the details pane, right-click TCP/IP, and then click Enabled.
4. Set all other protocols listed in the details pane to Disabled.
5. To finish, restart the SQL Server. In Object Explorer, right-click on the

SQL Server instance, and then click Restart.
Step 4. Enable the SQL Server Browser service

To enable the SQL Server Browser service, complete these steps.
If you are using SQL Server 2008 R2:
1. Click Start > All Programs > Microsoft SQL Server 2008 >
Configuration Tools > SQL Server Configuration Manager.
2. Click SQL Server Services.
3. In the details pane, right-click SQL Server Browser. Click Properties.
4. In the Properties dialog box, on the General tab, set Startup type to
Automatic, and then click OK.
Appendix E Use an Existing SQL Server database
Step 5. Configure the Windows Firewall

To configure the Windows Firewall, perform the following steps:
1. Click Start > Control Panel > Windows Firewall.
2. On the Exceptions tab, SQL Server (sqlservr.exe) might be listed in the

Programs and Services box, but not selected as an exception. Select the
check box to open port 1433 to allow TCP requests.
box.
If SQL Server is not listed it must be added:
4. Click the Add Program button.
5. Click the Browse button.
6. Open the folder at <drive letter>:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL

Server\MSSQL10.SQLEXPRESS\MSSQL\BINN.
7. Select sqlservr.exe, and then click Open.
8. In the Add Program dialog box, click OK.

Sqlservr.exe is displayed in the list with a check mark beside it.
Now add the SQL Server Browser service to the exception list:
9. Click the Add Program button.
10. Click the Browse button.
11. Open the folder at drive:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL

Server\90\Shared.
12. Select sqlbrowser.exe, and then click Open.
13. In the Add Program dialog box, click OK.

Sqlbrowser.exe is displayed in the list with a check mark beside it.
box.
Appendix F
Alarm time stamping
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events provides excellent time-stamp accuracy compared

with traditional alarm monitoring systems, and you can obtain better time-stamp
resolution in some cases by using time stamps directly retrieved from peripheral
devices such as I/O cards or other time-stamping hardware.
When an analog (ALMA) or digital (ALMD) alarm instruction executes as an

alarm event occurs, the current Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) value of the
controller’s wall clock is captured and delivered to the FactoryTalk Alarms and
Events system with the alarm.
This appendix shows how to replace the controller’s wall clock time in an alarm
event with a time stamp from an external source.
You can take events from an I/O card such as a 1756-IB16ISOE and use the
50-microsecond accuracy from the card’s time stamp when delivering an alarm to
the rest of the alarm monitoring system.
Resolve these points when you replace the normal time stamp provided with the
alarm instructions:
• Alarm time stamps must be in UTC with no time zone or daylight savings
time offset included (these offsets are automatically added to the time stamp
when it is displayed).
• The alarm time stamp is usually represented as a long integer (LINT) data
type, occupying one 64-bit word. Most I/O cards stamp time using two
double integers (DINT), occupying two 32-bit words.
In the RSLogix 5000 environment, time is represented in three different

Overview of time keeping
ways: Local Time, Coordinated System Time, and Universal Coordinated Time.
Coordinated System Time (CST)

Coordinated System Time is provided by a free-running backplane clock that
starts counting the first time the system is powered up. CST is used for time
stamping, event tracking between processors and I/O cards, as well as for motion
Appendix F Alarm time stamping
planning among multiple motion modules. CST has no relevance to real-world

time, but can be converted to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) using an offset.
CST time stamps must be converted to UTC before passing them to the alarm
monitoring system.
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)

Coordinated Universal Time is a real-world time relative to a time constant, but
with no time zone information and no daylight savings time offsets. It is the raw
value used to represent time and also the value required for time stamps in the
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events system. UTC is equivalent to Greenwich Mean
Time, with no daylight savings time offsets.
Advantage of using UTC for time stamps is that distributed events can be
compared, regardless of their geographical location or where they are, relative to
Daylight Savings Time (DST). The software reading the time stamp can then
convert UTC time stamps to local time. Logix 5000 and FactoryTalk Alarms and
Events graphic objects convert UTC time stamps to the local time of the
workstation running the software application.
Time stamps from different sources may or may not be returned in UTC format,
depending on the device generating the time stamp and how it is configured. For
example, a 1756-IB16ISOE module can return time in UTC if configured to do
so.
In the RSLogix 5000 software, time is often returned as two 32-bit DINT data
types instead of one 64-bit LINT data type. The FactoryTalk Alarms and Events
system requires the time stamps to use the LINT data type. If a module (for
example, the 1756-IB16ISOE module) returns the time stamp in two DINTs
instead of a LINT, you will have to convert the time format into a LINT. To
perform this conversion, an Add-On Instruction is available for download from
the RSLogix 5000 sample code website in the Rockwell Automation Sample Code
Library http://samplecode.rockwellautomation.com/. You can locate this code by
performing a search for LINT on the search page.
Local Time (Wall Clock Time)

Local time (often referred to as Wall Clock Time) is the time in the real world
where the controller is located. This means that Wall Clock time is UTC, but
with time zone and Daylight Savings Time (DST) offsets added.
Local Time is typically used to trigger local events (like turning on a pump at
1:00AM during shift change). Local time values must be converted to UTC before
passing them to an alarm monitoring system.
Alarm time stamping Appendix F
You can see the calculated result in RSLogix 5000, in the Controller Properties
dialog box, on the Date/Time tab, as shown in the following illustration.
We recommend using local time only to drive events from the controller, and not
to time-stamp alarms.
ALMD and ALMA alarm When the controller detects a condition that causes an In Alarm event, the
controller stores the current UTC value in the backing tag for the alarm.
blocks
1. The alarm is provided by ladder logic that includes the ALMD or ALMA
instructions:
like this:
2. In the ALMD Properties dialog box, in the Configuration tab, click the
Browse button (...) to edit the alarm message sent when the alarm is
triggered.
Alarm time stamping Appendix F
3. On the Status tab, time stamps appear when the alarm is triggered,
acknowledged, returns to normal, or when the alarm count is reset.
4. On the Parameters tab, these UTC time stamps are automatically

transferred to tags that you can then use in logic of your own.
For details about adding an Alarm and Event Summary object to a graphic display
in FactoryTalk View, see Set up graphic displays on page 79.
Insert time stamps manually

To insert a time stamp manually, in the ALMD Properties dialog box, on the Tag
tab, enter the new time under the .ProgTime element. Set the boolean
.UseProgTime in the backing tag for the alarm before the actual alarm instruction
is triggered.
Example
Appendix G
Time synchronization
FactoryTalk Alarms and Events provides excellent resolution and accuracy for
alarms and events time stamps. You can build a very accurate time sequence for
events that led to a failure, or simply to diagnose the exact order of their
occurrence. Because the alarms are generated by the controller, the time-stamp
accuracy is a function of the rate of the controller’s ability to scan the alarm
instruction, plus the accuracy of the controller’s wall clock.
When an alarm instruction is evaluated in code and an alarm transition event

occurs (goes into alarm, or is acknowledged, suppressed, and so on), the
instruction immediately records the current value of the controller’s wall clock.
This 64-bit, microsecond-resolution number reflects the time of the event relative
to the controller’s wall clock in UTC time (no time zone or daylight savings
information is included). When you view this time stamp, either in the Logix
Designer application (RSLogix 5000 software) or in FactoryTalk View Site
Edition, the time zone of the computer running the software is used to visualize
the time value. You can use a distributed system that covers multiple time zones to
display a valid sequence of events at an operator or maintenance station
independently of the time zone the time stamps are captured in.
Because alarm events can originate in multiple controllers distributed over an

Coordinate multiple
enterprise, it is important to provide a common time reference to set these clocks.
controller wall clocks A controller with a wall clock that is out of synchronization with the rest of the
enterprise can potentially log events out of the time sequence in which they
actually occurred, relative to the other controllers.
Setting the controllers' wall clocks individually by hand is inefficient. Additionally,

clock drift naturally causes these clocks to record time further and further apart
from each other. There are several automated methods to manage the wall clocks
on multiple controllers, the easiest and most cost-effective of which is the
Logix5000 Clock Update Tool.
The Logix5000 Clock Update Tool lets you view and synchronize the system time
of the controllers and devices on a network, using any computer running
Microsoft Windows and RSLinx Classic. You can also schedule automatic
synchronization of all devices. See Create a synchronization schedule on page 230.
The accuracy of time synchronization varies based on many factors, including the
network path and what the controller is doing when the time synchronization
takes place. Typical systems using the Logix5000 Clock Update Tool coordinate
Appendix G Time synchronization
clocks to approximately 300ms. If you need greater accuracy for clock

synchronization than the Logix5000 Clock Update Tool can provide, there are
several other hardware-based options to improve the accuracy of time stamps in
the control system. These include IRIGB, NTP, GPS, and IEEE 1588 Ethernet.
This stand-alone tool is included with the RSLogix 5000 software. Using RSLinx
Install the Logix5000 Clock
to browse to multiple controllers, this tool synchronizes multiple wall clocks at a
Update Tool user-defined rate in a variety of controllers, including PLC-5, SLC 500s,
MicroLogix™, and all Logix5000 controllers (except the SoftLogix controller
which typically obtains the time from the clock in the computer where the
controller is installed).
1. On the RSLogix 5000 software install media, open the Tools folder and
then double-click Setup.exe. You can also install this tool when installing
the RSLogix 5000 software (the Logix Designer application).
2. Follow the instructions on the screen to install the Logix5000 Clock

Update Tool.
Start the Logix5000 Clock • Click Start > All Programs > Rockwell Software > RSLogix 5000 Tools
> Logix5000 Clock Update Tool > Logix5000 Clock Update Tool.
Update Tool
Start the Update Tool automatically

You can start the Logix5000 Clock Update Tool automatically when you start
Windows.
• In the Logix5000 Clock Update Tool, on the File menu, click Start the
application when Windows starts.
The next time you start Windows, the Clock Update Tool opens automatically.
Time synchronization Appendix G
Use the Logix5000 Clock The Logix5000 Clock Update Tool lets you view and synchronize the system time
of the controllers and devices on a network, using any computer running
Update Tool Microsoft Windows and RSLinx Classic. You can also schedule automatic
synchronization of all devices.
The left pane of the Clock Update Tool window contains a tree view, with these
items:
• Scheduled Synchronizations lists synchronization schedules that have

been configured. Right-click an individual schedule for more options.
• Devices lists devices that have been configured. Right-click an individual
device for more options.
• Log contains a log of the most recent events. The path indicated under the
list of events contains the location of the complete log file for the day.
Synchronize devices on a To synchronize devices on a schedule, complete these steps:

schedule 1. Create a synchronization schedule. This schedule determines when
synchronization takes place.
2. Create a list of devices you want to synchronize and then add them to
synchronization schedules. Devices that are not included in this list are not
synchronized.
3. Optionally, match existing devices with existing synchronization schedules.

Skip this step if you specified a synchronization schedule when you added
the device. Devices that are not matched to any synchronization schedule
are not synchronized.
This section includes information about each of these steps.
Create a synchronization schedule

A synchronization schedule determines when devices are synchronized. For
example, you can schedule devices to be synchronized on a fixed time interval. You
can also configure a synchronization schedule to expire on a particular date.
Create a synchronization schedule
1. In the Logix5000 Clock Update Tool window, in the left pane, click
Scheduled Synchronizations.
2. Right-click the right pane and then click Add Event.
3. In the Update Date and Time Interval dialog box, set up a schedule for
synchronizing the date and time, and then click OK.
The new schedule information appears, as shown in the following example:
Remove a synchronization schedule
To remove a synchronization schedule from the list:
1. Right-click the synchronization schedule you want to remove and then click
Remove Event.
2. Any devices that were associated with this synchronization schedule are no
longer associated with a schedule.
Modify a synchronization schedule
1. To modify an existing synchronization schedule, right-click the

synchronization schedule and then click Modify Event.
2. In the Update Date and Time Interval dialog box, modify the schedule
information, and then click OK.
Enable or disable a synchronization schedule
Occasionally, you might want to temporarily disable a synchronization schedule,

rather than permanently delete it.
• To disable a synchronization schedule, right-click the synchronization

schedule you want to disable and then click Disable Event.
• To enable a synchronization schedule, right-click the disabled
synchronization schedule you want to enable, and then click Enable Event.
Add devices After creating one or more synchronization schedules, add the devices you want to
include in the schedules.
When you add a device, you can also match it to a synchronization schedule, or
you can add all of the devices first and then match them to synchronization
schedules later. If you add the devices later, you can add all of the devices to a single
synchronization schedule in one step.
You can add a device to only one synchronization schedule.
To add a device
1. In the Logix5000 Clock Update Tool, in the left pane, click Devices.
2. Right-click anywhere in the right pane and then click Add New Device or
click the Add Device button .
3. In the RSLinx dialog box, browse to the device you want to add, select it,
and then click OK.
Tip: You cannot click OK unless you have selected a device that is capable of being synchronized and has not already
been configured.
4. In the Add Device to Schedule list, select the synchronization schedule to

which you want to add the device, and then click OK.
The device is added to the list. Because this device has not yet been
synchronized, question marks (?????) appear in the Last Update column.
Remove a device
• To remove a device from the list, right-click the device you want to remove,
and then click Remove Device. You can also select the device your want to
remove, and then click the Remove Device button . If the device is
associated with a particular synchronization schedule, it is removed from
that schedule.
• If you want to remove all devices from the list, right-click in the Device
pane and then click Remove All Devices. All devices are removed from the
list, as well as from their respective synchronization schedules.
View details about a device

To view the details of a particular device, right-click the device and then click
Device Properties. This shows major and minor firmware revision information,
Computer Time, Device Time, Response Time, and the Time Difference between
the computer and the device.
Assign devices to When a synchronization schedule is selected in the left pane, the Device pane lists
all of the devices that are configured.
synchronization schedules
Tip: When you add a new device, you can assign it to a specific schedule at that time. See Add devices on page 231.
• To add a device to the selected synchronization schedule, select the check

box to the left of the device. To remove the device from the synchronization
schedule, clear the check box.
• To add all devices to the specified schedule, select the Select All check box
at the bottom of the list.
Synchronize devices In addition to scheduling automatic synchronization, you can synchronize devices
manually. Either:
manually
• Click the Synchronize All Devices button on the toolbar.
• Right-click a device and then click Synchronize Device or right-click
anywhere in the Device pane and then click Synchronize All Devices.
Any errors in synchronization are saved to the log file. In addition, an icon appears
in the device list and in the main tree view to indicate the error. The log file
indicates a specific cause for the error, where one is known.
View the log file To view a log of the most recent events, in the left pane click Log. The path
shown under the list of events contains the location of the complete log file for the
day. The log file is saved in .txt and .xml format.
Change the location of the log file

The default location for the synchronization log file is C:\Program
Files\Rockwell Software\RSLogix 5000 Tools\Logix5000 Clock Update
Tool.
To change the location of the log file:
1. On the Log menu, click Change Log File Location (or to the right of the
Path box at the bottom of the Update Tool window, click the Browse
button ).
2. In the Browse for Folder dialog box, select the new folder for the log files,
and then click OK. To create a new folder for the log file, click Make New
Folder.
Time stamps with If your FactoryTalk Alarms and Events system includes tag-based alarm servers,
tag-based alarms the time stamps for those alarms come from the computer that hosts the server
that provides tags to the alarm server (for example, RSLinx Enterprise or a
third-party Data Server). To ensure that alarms are ordered properly by time, you
must synchronize the computer's clock with the controllers' clocks.
The simplest way to solve this synchronization problem is to run the Logix5000
Clock Update Tool on the same computer as the RSLinx Enterprise alarm server.
This ensures that the controller clocks all synchronize with the computer's
tag-based alarm server. Typical systems using this method commonly achieve
300ms synchronization.
If it is not possible to install the Logix5000 Clock Update Tool on the same
computer that hosts the data server that provides tags for the tag-based alarm
server, try to synchronize the computer's clock with the same NTP server that is
used to synchronize the control network, with similar network latencies.
For details about tag-based alarms, see Add a tag-based alarm server for Logix5000,
PLC-5, SLC 500, or third-party controllers on page 67.
Supported devices The Logix5000 Clock Update Tool supports the following controller families:
• ControlLogix
• CompactLogix
• All CompactLogix processors can be used with ENI. CompactLogix

L32E and CompactLogix L35E can be directly connected via Ethernet
or with ENI.
• Make sure that the CompactLogix port is set up for DF1 full-duplex.
• Make sure routing is enabled on NET-ENI. Net-ENI works with
Ethernet devices drivers and not with EtherNet/IP drivers.
• DriveLogix
• FlexLogix
• PLC-5
• SLC
• MicroLogix
• PowerMonitor
Appendix H
Reference for building a distributed system
This system configuration guide primarily focuses on building an alarms and

events system on a single computer.
When building a distributed system on multiple computers on the network, keep

the following guidelines in mind.
When installing FactoryTalk FactoryTalk Alarms and Events is installed with FactoryTalk View and RSLinx
Enterprise. There is no need to install FactoryTalk Alarms and Events separately
Alarms & Events unless you have installed FactoryTalk Services Platform on a computer where you
have not installed FactoryTalk View or RSLinx Enterprise.
For details, see Install FactoryTalk Alarms and Events manually on page 209.
Typical distributed system In the sample distributed automation system shown next, FactoryTalk Services
Platform is installed on every computer in the network.
on a network
Appendix H Reference for building a distributed system
The diagram shows just one example of a possible network layout for a group of
computers and software products participating in a FactoryTalk Alarms and
Events system using a FactoryTalk Network Directory. Use this diagram only as a
starting point--your own distributed system will vary.
Appendix I
Language identifiers for language switching
With the FactoryTalk View language switching feature, run-time operators can
view the text strings defined in an application in up to 40 different languages.
FactoryTalk View SE Clients can run in any of the languages an application
supports. In a network distributed application or network station application,
multiple clients can run in different languages at the same time.
The languages in the following table are supported for language switching by the
application at run time. Be sure that these languages are installed on the
development and client computers before trying to switch languages.
To find out which languages are installed on a computer, open Control Panel.
Depending on the version of Windows you are using, click:
• Regional Options (Windows 2000)

• Regional and Language Options (Windows XP, Windows Server® 2003,
and Windows Vista®)
• Region and Language (Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008)
Installed languages are listed in the dialog box. The language that has a check mark
beside it is the default language.
For more information on adding alarm messages in multiple languages to a

FactoryTalk Tag Alarm and Event Server, see Enter alarm messages in other
languages on page 182.
Language identifiers The following table lists the language identifiers:
Language ID
Afrikaans (South Africa) af-ZA
Albanian (Albania) sq-AL
Arabic (Algeria) ar-DZ
Arabic (Bahrain) ar-BH
Arabic (Egypt) ar-EG
Arabic (Iraq) ar-IQ
Arabic (Jordan) ar-JO
Arabic (Kuwait) ar-KW
Arabic (Lebanon) ar-LB
Appendix I Language identifiers for language switching
Language ID
Arabic (Libya) ar-LY
Arabic (Morocco) ar-MA
Arabic (Oman) ar-OM
Arabic (Qatar) ar-QA
Arabic (Saudi Arabia) ar-SA
Arabic (Syria) ar-SY
Arabic (Tunisia) ar-TN
Arabic (U.A.E.) ar-AE
Arabic (Yemen) ar-YE
Armenian (Armenia) hy-AM
Azeri (Cyrillic) az-Cyrl-AZ
Azeri (Latin) az-Latn-AZ
Basque eu-ES
Belarusian be-BY
Bosnian (Cyrillic, Bosnia and Herzegovina) bs-Cyrl-BA
Bosnian (Latin, Bosnia and Herzegovina) bs-Latn-BA
Bulgarian bg-BG
Catalan ca-ES
Chinese (Hong Kong S.A.R.) zh-HK
Chinese (Macau S.A.R.) zh-MO
Chinese (PRC) zh-CN
Chinese (Singapore) zh-SG
Chinese (Taiwan) zh-TW
Croatian (Croatia) hr-HR
Czech (Czech Republic) cs-CZ
Danish (Denmark) da-DK
Divehi (Maldives) dv-MV
Dutch (Belgium) nl-BE
Dutch (Netherlands) nl-NL
English (Australia) en-AU
English (Belize) en-BZ
English (Canada) en-CA
English (Caribbean) en-029
English (Ireland) en-IE
English (Jamaica) en-JM
English (New Zealand) en-NZ
English (Philippines) en-PH
English (South Africa) en-ZA
English (Trinidad ) en-TT
English (United Kingdom) en-GB
Language identifiers for language switching Appendix I
Language ID
English (United States) en-US
English (Zimbabwe) en-ZW
Estonian (Estonia) et-EE
Faroese (Faroe Islands) fo-FO
Farsi fa-IR
Filipino(Philippines) fil-PH
Finnish (Finland) fi-FI
French (Belgium) fr-BE
French (Canada) fr-CA
French (France) fr-FR
French (Luxembourg) fr-LU
French (Monaco) fr-MC
French (Switzerland) fr-CH
Frisian (Netherlands) fy-NL
FRYO (Macedonian) mk-MK
Galician gl-ES
Georgian ka-GE
German (Austria) de-AT
German (Germany) de-DE
German (Liechtenstein) de-LI
German (Luxembourg) de-LU
German (Switzerland) de-CH
Greek (Greece) el-GR
Gujarati (India) gu-IN
Hebrew (Israel) he-IL
Hindi (India) hi-IN
Hungarian (Hungary) hu-HU
Icelandic (Iceland) is-IS
Indonesian (Indonesia) id-ID
Inuktitut (Latin, Canada) iu-Latn-CA
Irish (Ireland) ga-IE
Italian (Italy) it-IT
Italian (Switzerland) it-CH
Japanese (Japan) ja-JP
Kannada (India) kn-IN
Kazakh (Kazakhstan) kk-KZ
Konkani (India) kok-IN
Korean (Korea) ko-KR
Kyrgyz (Cyrillic) ky-KG
Latvian (Latvia) lv-LV
Appendix I Language identifiers for language switching
Language ID
Lithuanian (Lithuania) lt-LT
Luxembourgish (Luxembourg) lb-LU
Malay (Brunei Darussalam) ms-BN
Malay (Malaysia) ms-MY
Maktese mt-MT
Maori mi-NZ
Mapudungun (Chile) arn-CL
Marathi (India) mr-IN
Mohawk (Mohawk) moh-CA
Mongolian (Cyrillic) mn-MN
Norwegian (Bokmal) nb-NO
Norwegian (Nynorsk) nn-NO
Polish (Poland) pl-PL
Portuguese (Brazil) pt-BR
Portuguese (Portugal) pt-PT
Punjabi pa-IN
Quechua (Bolivia) quz-BO
Quechua (Equador) quz-EC
Quechua (Peru) quz-PE
Romanian (Romania) ro-RO
Romansh (Switzerland) rm-CH
Russian (Russia) ru-RU
Sami, Inari (Finland) smn-FI
Sami, Lule (Norway) smj-NO
Sami, Lule (Sweden) smj-SE
Sami, Northern (Finland) se-FI
Sami, Northern (Norway) se-NO
Sami, Northern (Sweden) se-SE
Sami, Skolt (Finland) sms-FI
Sami, Southern (Norway) sma-NO
Sami, Southern (Sweden) sma-SE
Sanskrit - India sa-IN
Serbian (Cyrillic) sr-Cyrl-CS
Serbian (Cyrillic, Bosnia and Herzdgovina) sr-Cryl-BA
Serbian (Latin) sr-Latn-CS
Serbian (Latin, Bosnia and Herzdgovina) sr-Latn-BA
Sesotho sa Leboa (South Africa) ns-ZA
Sestswana (South Africa) tn-ZA
Slovak sk-SK
Slovenian (Slovenia) sl-SI
Language identifiers for language switching Appendix I
Language ID
Spanish (Argentina) es-AR
Spanish (Bolivia) es-BO
Spanish (Chile) es-CL
Spanish (Colombia) es-CO
Spanish (Costa Rica) es-CR
Spanish (Dominican Republic) es-DO
Spanish (Ecuador) es-EC
Spanish (El Salvador) es-SV
Spanish (Guatemala) es-GT
Spanish (Honduras) es-HN
Spanish (International Sort) es-ES
Spanish (Mexico) es-MX
Spanish (Nicaragua) es-NI
Spanish (Panama) es-PA
Spanish (Paraguay) es-PY
Spanish (Peru) es-PE
Spanish (Puerto Rico) es-PR
Spanish (Traditional Sort) es-ES_tradnl
Spanish (Uruguay) es-UY
Spanish (Venezuela) es-VE
Swahili (Kenya) sw-KE
Swedish (Finland) sv-FI
Swedish sv-SE
Syriac (Syria) syr-SY
Tamil (India) ta-IN
Tatar (Russia) tt-RU
Telugu (India) te-IN
Thai (Thailand) th-TH
Turkish (Turkey) tr-TR
Ukrainian (Ukraine) uk-UA
Urdu (Pakistan) ur-PK
Uzbek (Cyrillic) uz-Cyrl-UZ
Uzbek (Latin) uz-Latn-UZ
Vietnamese (Vietnam) vi-VN
Welch cy-GB
Xhosa xh-ZA
Zula zu-ZA
For more information, see Enter alarm messages in other languages on page 182.
Appendix J
Glossary
Alarm history log
A Microsoft SQL Server database that is configured to accept alarm and event data
from the FactoryTalk Alarms and Events system.
Analog alarm
An analog alarm defines a condition that evaluates a single analog tag. The trigger
condition compares the value of the tag against a defined static value using an
operator: equal to, not equal to, greater than or equal to, less than or equal to,
greater than, or less than.
Application
An application organizes project information, including elements such as data

servers, HMI servers, and alarm and event servers, and makes the information
available to all software products and computers participating in a FactoryTalk
system.
• Network distributed applications are held in a FactoryTalk Network

Directory. Project information and participating software products can be
located on multiple computers distributed across a network. All of the
computers participating in a particular network distributed application
share a common Network Directory Server located on a network computer.
• Network station applications are held in a FactoryTalk Network
Directory. All participating software products (except for data servers) must
be installed on the same computer. Network station applications can
connect to data servers that are located on different machines. All of the
computers participating in a particular network station application share a
common Network Directory Server located on a network computer.
• Local station applications are held in a FactoryTalk Local Directory.
Project information is located on a stand-alone computer and is available
only to software products installed on that same local computer. Local
station applications cannot be accessed remotely and cannot share project
information with a network distributed application or network station
application.
Appendix J Glossary
Area
Areas subdivide and organize a distributed network application into logical or

physical divisions. For example, separate areas might correspond with separate
manufacturing lines in a facility, separate plants in different geographical locations,
or different manufacturing processes.
Areas are not available with local station applications.
Condition-related event
An event associated with a change in the state of an alarm. For example, a

condition-related event is triggered when an alarm condition changes to In Alarm,
Acknowledged, Return to Normal, or Disabled.
Data server
Data servers serve tags, or data items, contained in OPC-DA (Data Access)
servers. Clients that need access to data items, such as FactoryTalk View Studio
and FactoryTalk Transaction Manager, use data server application elements
referenced from the FactoryTalk Directory to locate the computers that are
hosting OPC-DA 2.0 compliant data servers.
Deviation alarm
A deviation alarm defines a condition that evaluates a single analog tag. A trigger
condition compares the value of a tag against a deviation from a target value.
Device server
A server process that connects to devices (controllers) and subscribes to alarm,

status, and diagnostic information. A device server processes this data and
publishes it to client processes for graphic display and logging. RSLinx Enterprise
is one common example of a device server. See also data server.
Device-based alarm monitoring
With device-based alarm monitoring, pre-built alarm instructions, available in

RSLogix 5000 v. 16 or later, are programmed in a logic project and then
downloaded into a Logix5000 controller. The controller detects alarm conditions
and publishes event information, which is routed through the system for display
and logging.
Digital alarm
A digital alarm defines a condition that evaluates a single digital tag. The trigger
condition compares the value of the tag to either zero or one.
Glossary Appendix J
Docked
A graphic display that is fixed to the top, bottom, left or right side of a
FactoryTalk View SE client window.
Dongle
A dongle is a security or copy protection device for commercial computer

programs. When required by a program, a dongle must be connected to an
input/output port, such as USB or parallel port of the computer, to allow the
program to run. Programs that use a dongle query the port at start-up and at
programmed intervals thereafter, and terminate if the dongle does not respond
with the expected validation code.
Enabled
When an alarm is enabled, it is running its condition detection logic. Enabled

alarms cannot be edited or deleted.
HMI server
HMI servers, also called FactoryTalk View SE Servers, store and serve HMI
projects, which contain displays, alarms, tags and other services, to HMI clients
such as FactoryTalk View Studio and FactoryTalk View SE Clients. HMI clients
use FactoryTalk Directory to locate the computers that are hosting HMI servers.
Level alarm
A level alarm defines multiple conditions that evaluate a single level tag
(sometimes called an analog tag). Each level can uniquely identify an alarm
threshold, a severity, and an alarm message.
Offline data item
In RSLinx Classic, offline data points are read directly from a processor's project
file defined in the RSLinx Classic DDE/OPC Topic Configuration (Use Symbols
option).
In RSLinx Enterprise, offline data points are read directly from a processor's
project file defined in the device shortcut. For ControlLogix, offline tag browsing
requires firmware version 10 or higher.
Online data item
Online data items are read directly from a processor, exactly as they are defined in
that processor.
Appendix J Glossary
Using a Logix5000 controller you can create tags right in the controller and use
RSLinx Classic or RSLinx Enterprise to access those tags directly. As a result, you
can work with symbol names in a Logix5000 processor both online and offline.
In a traditional PLC-5 or SLC 500 processor, tags are not created in the
controller--instead symbol and tag names are associated with predefined PLC
addresses. These associations are held in the logic program and are referenced by
RSLinx Classic or RSLinx Enterprise. When reading data points online, only the
PLC addresses exist inside the controller. You must work with RSLinx Classic
offline data items to use ladder logic symbol names with these types of controllers.
OPC
OPC (OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) for Process Control) is a

non-proprietary technical specification that defines a set of standard interfaces
based on Microsoft’s OLE/COM (Component Object Model) technology.
Applying OPC standards makes interoperability possible among automation and
control applications, field systems and devices, and business and office
applications.
The FactoryTalk Services Platform supports and extends the OPC 2.0
specification, which includes the ability to browse data items.
Policy
A set of system-wide rules governing how security is implemented, such as rules

related to password length and complexity.
RSLinx
RSLinx Classic and RSLinx Enterprise are families of software products that link
networks and devices to products such as the FactoryTalk View family of HMI
software and the RSLogix family of device-programming software.
Two versions of RSLinx are commonly used in FactoryTalk systems:
• RSLinx Classic: an OPC-DA 2.0 data server.

• RSLinx Enterprise: a FactoryTalk Live Data server and Alarms and Events
server.
RSLogix
The RSLogix family of software products provides programming software for

control devices, including the Logix5000 series, PLC-5, and SLC 500. Use either
of these two control programming tools to set up device-based alarm monitoring
in FactoryTalk Alarms and Events:
Glossary Appendix J
• Studio 5000 Logix Designer application, version 21.00.00 and later.

• RSLogix 5000 software, version 16.00.00 and later.
Simple event
Any event describing a simple occurrence in the system. Example: failure to access
a computer or device.
Tag update rate
The rate at which a tag is scanned for changes to its value. To reduce the quantity
of network traffic, set the tag update rate to be as long as possible. For example,
because an operator cannot respond to tag values that change faster than once
every second, it is seldom necessary to set a tag update rate faster than once every
few seconds. Set a faster tag update rate only if the system is programmed to
respond automatically to tag values that change so quickly, bearing in mind the
load this places on the network.
Tag-based alarm monitoring
Software-based Tag Alarm and Event Servers monitor controller tags for alarm
conditions through data servers and publish event information for display and
logging. Tag-based alarm monitoring is used for Logix5000 controllers, PLC-5,
and SLC 500 devices communicating through Rockwell Automation Device
Servers (RSLinx Enterprise), or for third-party controllers communicating
through OPC data servers.
Tracking-related event
An event that tracks changes made to the system over time. Examples: an event
describing the acknowledgment of an alarm by an operator, or the modification of
a tag value by an operator.
Legal Notices Copyright notice
© 2015 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in USA.
This document and any accompanying Rockwell Software products are

copyrighted by Rockwell Automation, Inc. Any reproduction and/or distribution
without prior written consent from Rockwell Automation, Inc. is strictly
prohibited. Please refer to the license agreement for details.
End User License Agreement (EULA)
You can view the Rockwell Automation End-User License Agreement ("EULA")
by opening the License.rtf file located in your product's install folder on your hard
drive.
Other Licenses
Distributed under the Boost Software License, version 1.0. See accompanying file
LICENSE_1_0.txt at http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt.
Trademark Notices
Allen-Bradley, CompactLogix, ControlLogix, DriveLogix, DH+, FactoryTalk,

FlexLogix, GuardLogix, Logix5000, MicroLogix, PLC-5, PowerFlex, Rockwell
Automation, RSLinx, RSLogix, SLC, SoftLogix, and Studio 5000 are trademarks
of Rockwell Automation, Inc.
Any Rockwell Automation software or hardware not mentioned here is also a

trademark, registered or otherwise, of Rockwell Automation, Inc.
Other Trademarks
Excel, Microsoft, SQL Server, Windows, Windows Vista, and Windows Server are
either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the
United States and/or other countries.
OPC is a registered trademark of the OPC Foundation in the United States

and/or other countries.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders and are hereby
acknowledged.
Warranty
This product is warranted in accordance with the product license. The product’s
performance may be affected by system configuration, the application being
performed, operator control, maintenance, and other related factors. Rockwell
Automation is not responsible for these intervening factors. The instructions in
this document do not cover all the details or variations in the equipment,
Appendix J Legal Notices
procedure, or process described, nor do they provide directions for meeting every
possible contingency during installation, operation, or maintenance. This
product’s implementation may vary among users.
This document is current as of the time of release of the product; however, the
accompanying software may have changed since the release. Rockwell Automation,
Inc. reserves the right to change any information contained in this document or
the software at any time without prior notice. It is your responsibility to obtain the
most current information available from Rockwell when installing or using this
product.
Environmental compliance
Rockwell Automation maintains current product environmental information on

its website at
http://www.rockwellautomation.com/rockwellautomation/about-us/sustainabili
ty-ethics/product-environmental-compliance.page.
Contact Rockwell
Customer Support Telephone — 1.440.646.3434

Online Support — http://www.rockwellautomation.com/support/
Index
buffered data 31
A buttons
about adding captions 220
acknowledging alarms 143 adding to graphic displays 175, 220
Alarm and Event Banner 19 Open Alarm and Event 175
Alarm and Event Historian 19
Alarm and Event Log Viewer 19
C
Alarm and Event Summary 19
Alarm Status Explorer 19 clear
Coordinated System Time 273 alarm 142
database definitions 162 color
deviation alarms 87 blink 119
device-based alarm monitoring 22 in graphic objects 119
FactoryTalk Audit Log 19 comment 144
FactoryTalk Diagnostics 19 communication 193
graphic displays 101 componenets of FactoryTalk Alarms and Events 19
HMI Tag Alarm Monitoring 23 controllers
Local applications 25, 68, 89 finding with RSLinx Classic 34
logging alarm and event history 19 linking tags with FactoryTalk Directory 83
monitoring for alarm conditions 131 coordinated system time
Network distributed applications 25 about 273
OPC data servers 15 create
process data 15 database 162
security for alarms and events 15 new alarm 33, 52, 95
setting up FactoryTalk Alarms and Events 19 new alarm message 95
software-based tag servers 15
Tag Alarm and Event Servers 87 D
tag-based alarm monitoring 23
data server 91
time stamps for alarms 273
deviation 95
warning icons 68, 91
device-based alarm monitoring 21
acknowledge alarms 143
choosing over tag-based 24
alarm monitoring
compared with software-based 21
about device-based alarm monitoring 22
definition of 21
about HMI Tag Alarm Monitoring 16
how it works 22
about tag-based alarm monitoring 23
RSLogix 5000 24
adding Tag Alarm and Event Servers 87
choosing between tag- and device-based 24
application 11 E
availability 189
enabling/disabling 146
B F
background color
FactoryTalk Services Platform 258
in Alarm and Event Summary 119
version required 11
of severities 119
Index
FactoryTalk View SE choosing alarm monitoring options 21, 24

documentation 14 device-based alarm monitoring 21
graphic objects in 102 FactoryTalk Alarms and Events 15
version required 11 install 28
FactoryTalk View SE Client logging alarm and event history 161
docking displays in 133 monitoring for alarm conditions 132
setting up security for 143 parts of FactoryTalk Alarms and Events 19
FactoryTalk View Studio securing access to alarms and events 143
Alarm Setup 95 tag-based alarm monitoring 23
workspace in 102
R
G redundancy 189
glossary 303 RSLogix 5000 11, 33
H S
HMI Tag Alarm Monitoring 16 security 143
for alarms and events 143
software 11
I supported devices 12, 13, 14
installation system requirements 11, 12, 253, 267
manual installation 258
recommended hardware 12
required software 11
T
tag-based alarm monitoring
adding Tag Alarm and Event Servers 94
L creating alarms in Tag Alarm and Event Servers 95
Logix Designer definition of 15
Logix Designer projects 33 how it works 23
version required 11 Logix5000 controllers 68
Logix5000 Clock Update Tool OPC data servers 81
starting automatically 282 third-party controllers 83
synchronizing clocks 284 tags
in RSLogix 5000 53, 91
using in editors 95
M
monitor alarms 142
acknowledge an alarm 143, 144, 145, 146 W
enable an alarm 147, 148 wall clock time 274
shelve an alarm 154, 156 Windows
suppress an alarm 151, 152 docked to bottom of screen 116
docking to top of screen 181
setting up for language switching 297
O
overview
Rockwell Automation support
Rockwell Automation provides technical information on the web to assist you in using its products. At
http://www.rockwellautomation.com/support http://www.rockwellautomation.com/support you can find technical and application notes, sample
code, and links to software service packs. You can also visit our Support Center at https://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com
https://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com for software updates, support chats and forums, technical information, FAQs, and to sign up for product
notification updates.
In addition, we offer multiple support programs for installation, configuration, and troubleshooting. For more information, contact your local
distributor or Rockwell Automation representative, or visit http://www.rockwellautomation.com/services/online-phone
http://www.rockwellautomation.com/services/online-phone.
Installation assistance
If you experience a problem within the first 24 hours of installation, review the information that is contained in this manual. You can contact
Customer Support for initial help in getting your product up and running.
United States or Canada 1.440.646.3434

Outside United States or Canada Use the Worldwide Locator available at http://www.rockwellautomation.com/locations
http://www.rockwellautomation.com/locations, or contact your local Rockwell Automation representative.
New product satisfaction return

Rockwell Automation tests all of its products to ensure that they are fully operational when shipped from the manufacturing facility. However, if
your product is not functioning and needs to be returned, follow these procedures.
United States Contact your distributor. You must provide a Customer Support case number (call the phone number above to obtain one) to
your distributor to complete the return process.
Outside United States Please contact your local Rockwell Automation representative for the return procedure.
Documentation feedback
Your comments will help us serve your documentation needs better. If you have any suggestions on how to improve this document, complete the
feedback form, publication RA-DU002 http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/du/ra-du002_-en-e.pdf.
Rockwell Automation Publication FactoryTalk Alarms and Events System Configuration Guide - July 2015
Copyright © 2015 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

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FactoryTalk Alarms and Events

FactoryTalk Alarms and Events System Configuration Guide

Labels may also be on or inside the equipment to provide specific precautions.

What you need to get started Required software ................................................................................................... 9

Define an analog alarm ........................................................................................ 42

Add a device server for Before you begin.................................................................................................... 53

Add an OPC Data Server for Before you begin.................................................................................................... 63

Add a tag-based alarm server Before you begin.................................................................................................... 67

Set up graphic displays Before you begin.................................................................................................... 79

Monitor and interact with Before you begin.................................................................................................. 103

Set up historical alarm and Before you begin.................................................................................................. 127

Configure redundancy for FactoryTalk server redundancy ........................................................................ 151

Get started with language Before you begin.................................................................................................. 161

System performance and Controller specifications ................................................................................... 205

Install FactoryTalk Alarms Summary of steps ................................................................................................ 209

Install SQL Server 2008 Operating systems............................................................................................... 211

Windows Installer 4.5................................................................................. 213

Alarm time stamping Overview of time keeping.................................................................................. 221

Time synchronization Coordinate multiple controller wall clocks.................................................... 227

View the log file ................................................................................................... 236

Language identifiers for Language identifiers ........................................................................................... 241

What you need to get started

Catalog number Name

The following controllers with firmware revision 24 also support FactoryTalk

Catalog number Name

Catalog number Name

Controller Firmware revision

• Logix5000 controllers that communicate with RSLinx Enterprise, using

Overview of FactoryTalk Alarms and Events

FactoryTalk Alarms and Events was introduced with FactoryTalk Service

FactoryTalk Alarms and Events supports two types of alarm monitoring:

• Device-based alarm monitoring. Built-in alarm instructions, that are

FactoryTalk Alarms and Events:

• Provides a single, integrated set of alarm information. All participating

the Logix Designer application (RSLogix 5000 software version 16 or later),

Migrate to FactoryTalk Alarms and Events if you want to:

Where to start Here is an overview of the sections covered in this guide:

1. Device-based alarm monitoring

To configure device-based alarm monitoring, you program alarm

• Logix5000 controllers, that you have programmed with the Logix

2. Tag-based alarm monitoring

• PLC-5 or SLC 500 devices, and Rockwell Automation device servers

3. FactoryTalk Alarms and Events services

Both device-based and tag-based alarms and events are published to

4. Alarm and Event Historian and Log

5. Diagnostic and audit logs

FactoryTalk Diagnostics routes messages generated by FactoryTalk Alarms

6. Alarm and event setup and monitoring

FactoryTalk Alarms and Events includes a number of software components

Component Name Description

About device-based alarm monitoring

Device-based alarm monitoring workflow

About software-based alarm monitoring

Software-based alarm monitoring is a generic way of monitoring alarms from

With software-based alarm monitoring, alarm detection occurs in the controller,

Tag-based alarm monitoring workflow

This approach has several disadvantages:

• Programming is required in both the controller, and the HMI software or

Choose between Use device-based alarm monitoring with: